Circle
by lemon-and-chai
Summary: Tezuka, young yet successful in his career, sees inheriting his uncle's estate as but another part of his duties. But the heirloom he receives along with the fortune goes beyond his anticipation... TezuFuji, AU.
1. Chapter 1

Circle

* * *

Glass 1: Heirloom

* * *

He found himself on the outer side of a circle of crosses, the letter from his uncle crumpled in his hand.

_To the one who inherits my fortune:_

_Do what you want with my house, my money, and whatever other junk you may see. But do not break the heirloom which I keep on the highest floor. It's something I picked up a very long time ago, when I was still a young man, and though I've neglected it as I aged, I believe you'll appreciate its condition._

_Jyake Shinten Tezuka_

_12th Grand Maestro Hunter of the Shinten Line_

Tezuka's uncle had given up the work of a hunter even before his father had, but according to his grandfather, Uncle Jyake's skills were still first rate despite having ended his practice in his youth. As a result, Uncle Jyake was one of the few hunters to live to old age and die of natural causes. But his long life had been a lonely one, with many lovers but no wife, no children and very few friends, most of whom passed away before him, killed in the hunt they lived for.

Though the 12th shinten master was not known to have hunted after the age of 30, his father, Tezuka's grandfather, had clearly seen the younger brother would not take over the duties of a maestro. Thus, as his grandfather's last hope, Tezuka had been vigorously trained and, after quickly proving his excellence even as a child, been appointed the 13th Grand Maestro by the age of fourteen.

As was tradition, the successor to the line became the successor to the fortune that had kept his uncle afloat, even though the elderly man had not worked in over fifty years. Of course, twenty five year old Tezuka did not care for the 'junk' any more than his uncle had. He had already been given the highest quality tools of the trade, and been blessed with skills and training that had brought all of Japan and half the world to acknowledge him as one of the best, if not the number one, hunter in asia.

At the age of nine, he'd had his first kill. It was really his grandfather that had done the work, but he'd been given the honor of the finishing blow. He had never forgotten that first experience, the gold eyed beast that struggled to escape his grandfather's trap of imitation sunlight, its snarling glare, its fangs dripping with crimson life, ivory claws and ebony wings thrashing angrily at the small child who calmly, emotionlessly, plunged a silver dagger into its heart.

His other kills had been similar. Once trapped, they became like cornered rats, angry, vicious, bearing their true appearance of evil right at the end, though often times he would first discover them living amongst humans, pretending to be decent beings of life. But they knew him as well as he knew them - they would even come after him, thinking they could win, whatever glory and wealth and fame their own kind had promised for the death of the bespectacled brunette who had slain so many of them.

In every battle, for every kill, Tezuka had shed blood but never tears. He was, in a way, another kind of monster.

He had never, upon seeing a vampire, no matter how well clothed, how suavely spoken, how carefully mannered, been unable to distinguish a vampire from a human.

And yet here, he found himself staring at something that from all signs was clearly vampiric, and... did not find himself tensing, the blood running through his veins calling out, the dagger at his side humming...

Like any disguised vampire, it did not have eyes of gold. But such sharp, sunlit shades of blue he had never seen, not for a being of darkness. He had never seen a vampire unclothed, and he had never seen one... cry... water. Tears of water had begun to spill, soon after her entered the room, from those shimmering sapphires... clear and salty, like human tears, not the tears of blood that vampires were known for.

This alone would have caused him to second guess, were it not for the wealth of clues his uncle had left... the circle of crosses the boy was bound in; the holes around the outer edges of the roof that brought sunlight down in patches, creating a secondary cage; the silver chords wrapped around the boy's arms, pulling them up towards a bar in the ceiling, and the chains around his angles, keeping him in a constant kneeling position, forcing him to show every inch of his clothless body, his pale, sheening skin, the curves of his bones and tone of his muscles. Tezuka had seen many of these monsters weak, on the verge of defeat or dead, but never had he seen one _vulnerable_.

The boy gave him the strangest look, one that Tezuka would not understand for a very long time. The tears continued to leak, streaming down the boy's cheeks in dirty trails, his honey brown hair sticking to his face. His pink lips parted slightly, as if to say something, but there were no signs of fangs behind them. There was no malice, no anger, not even fear within those eyes or that expression.

_But do not break the heirloom..._

He wanted to kill it. He wanted to kill it so badly, for there was only one thing he hated more than vampires, and that was creatures he did not understand.

_...do not break..._

The lips parted, moved, mouthed something, Tezuka could swear he heard a whisper..._ Kill me..._

He stepped between the crosses. They were different sizes and shapes, ornate pieces of gold or silver, staggered jaggedly about, roughly following the middle ring of a magic circle that elegantly covered the floor, with the boy in its center. He did not have his dagger ready. It was clear he didn't need to.

_I believe you'll appreciate its condition._

The silver chords dug deeply into the boy's arms, creating black, deep scars where they had burned their way through. The skin must have been completely dead, otherwise they would have cut those skinny limbs to pieces. The chords had been notched, tiny prongs sticking out along them, forming miniature crosses. Tezuka had seen such tools before but they seemed like a waste of time.

His uncle had once told him no tool was unuseful.

He took hold of the boy's chin, pulling the round, baby face upwards, running his thumb along the boy's lips then forcing it inside till he felt the unnaturally sharp incisors brush his skin.

"You won't drink?" His tone was bland, calm to match his eyes, as he met the quiet glistening ones that trembled back at him.

He pulled his hand away, the boy gasping as if he'd been choked, confusion marring the hunter's brow. This boy was clearly a vampire, but his behavior was too bizarre for the bespectacled youth to put aside.

_It's something I picked up a very long time ago._

Maybe this place, full of crosses and taunting sunlight, had driven the creature crazy. Maybe his uncle had these intentions, keeping such a being trapped here... what had his uncle been thinking? Keeping a vampire in his mansion's attic like a... pet, though strangely, it did not seem uncharacteristic of the old man, who had taught Tezuka many things, both in the world of hunting and the world of desire.

It was really because of his uncle that Tezuka technically had a wife. He'd never really seen her, it'd been too dark whenever she'd come to him, and he'd been more or less drugged into ejaculation. But once she was pregnant, the elders had been satisfied and had whisked her away, and Tezuka had never seen his child even as it grew in the womb. He'd had other women, and a few men, more as a way to pass the time than out of pleasure, but that had been mostly due to uncle's urging...

No... it _couldn't_ be. He looked closely at the light haired being trapped before him. If he took out of his mind that this was a creature of evil... as a human, this boy was... beautiful. But all vampires were... it was partially because of this that Tezuka thought so little of humans, who paled in comparison. Still, there was something different about this one... for despite his ethereal beauty, the boy still felt human.

_Do not break the heirloom._

Fine. Tezuka would listen to the last wish his uncle had made of him. It went against everything he'd been taught, but just as he'd been taught to hunt, he'd been taught to be sensible. This boy was clearly harmless, at least while he remained a captive, and Tezuka would have two months to slay him anyway, as he had told his family he would care take of his uncle's house for such a period.

He turned on his heal, deciding he would ponder his discovery further while digging through his uncle's office, with a feeling like he was leaving the room light on and should turn it off. He stepped through the circle and towards the door, and almost missed hearing the rough whisper from the boy.

"Master..." The boy's throat was coarse as if damaged, his voice refusing to come from it. Tezuka turned in surprise, realizing he was being addressed. "At least... may I have a glass of water?"

* * *

Perhaps it was because of his uncle's wish, or an unusual trace of pity, or perhaps just curiosity, but Tezuka did return to the room once more that day with a full flask.

* * *

Glass 2: Bread

* * *

He spent the next several days sorting through the manor. His uncle had everything organized about how one would expect of such a man: most of the upstairs rooms were full of junk he clearly didn't want but couldn't get rid of. Gifts from lovers, tools of the trade worn beyond use, clothing and other belongings left behind by guests, furniture and other random things that must have been inherited from generations past. Tezuka's grandfather was already in a clamor about how the old house must be inherited by the current Shinten master. Tezuka could understand his uncle's chagrin at being forced into living here.

But if the so-called heirloom in the highest floor was any proof, his uncle had made the most of it.

He went every day around noon to see it. The creature in the skin of a beautiful young teenager hung limply like always, arms pulled up over its head, ankles chained to the floor. He brought it water, holding the flask up to pinkish lips, which drank greedily yet graciously at the same time. It was clear that the water would never be enough, but the being showed no sign of blood lust, even when Tezuka held his fingers against its fangs.

If it took even one drop of blood, he'd have enough reason to kill it. But it never even pricked the skin.

One time he'd sat watching it while eating dinner. It was the only other living thing in the manor, the only interesting thing in the twenty acre woods that spanned the Shinten estate. Every time he entered the room, those cerulean eyes were empty and downcast, but upon sensing his presence, the being would look up at him, and its lips would slowly twitch into something of a smile. It had stared at his strips of steak so intently, he'd experimented by giving it a piece.

He'd never heard of a vampire that drank water or ate food, but from that day on he bought enough groceries for two. The boy that was not a boy ate fruits and vegetables, breads and even sweets. It was almost amusing.

The smile was starting to grow.

As the days past, when he visited, he'd find the boy no longer down cast, but awaiting his return with a small, close lipped smile. Tezuka had not spoken to it, and it had not spoken to him since that first day. But each day it looked a little stronger, as though its body had been malnourished the way a human's would have been, and as though the food had somehow revived it.

He wondered how long he would play with it before he had to kill it.

The third week after his arrival, he was called out for a job over at a village on the other side of the mountains. He spent the night in a ryokan, killing the foolish vampire who, like all the others, fought bloodily to the death. It was clearly a newborn, having slaughtered several villagers upon its arrival, as if asking to be hunted.

He was not able to return to the manor until late evening. He'd been avoiding going into the barrier without the added security of sunlight, but the two day gap left him feeling strangely anxious. He felt strong, having cleanly completed the hunt, and kept his blade at his side as he entered the attic.

His eyes widened at the scene that greeted him.

The room was a lit with magic, the circle carved on the floor glowing softly yet strongly in light shades of blue. A column of light rose up in its center, surrounding the boy and going up until it reached the ceiling. Unlike the visage of daylight, where the wooden boards and dust of the attic cast an aura of decay, in the mystical light the room seemed ripped with luscious power, particularly with its captive on display in the center.

The boy had his head down, as he had in the beginning, his bangs covering his face, but upon sensing Tezuka's entrance, looked up with a smile so bright that it hurt.

The hunter approached with caution, weary of a being he knew was stronger at night, but comforted by the glow of the circle, which was far more powerful than he had initially realized. He passed through the ring of crosses, which seemed unnecessary in light of the barrier, and drew out from his bag a bean paste filled bread that he'd bought from the village.

It'd been strange to hand feed the creature whenever they ate, but Tezuka had nothing better to do except clean through the antiques, so it'd become something he'd grown used to. But now he realized it was something unnecessary.

"You can't pass through the barrier, even without the chains," he stated, eyeing again the twisting scars that wound underneath the silver chords.

"No," the vampire said, surprising him, its voice soft but stronger than it'd been before.

Frown deepening, Tezuka wondered if he should be listening to a creature of darkness verifying his assumptions. For all he knew this could be a trap. But still, he'd been waiting for an excuse to kill this creature, and he was well prepared tonight...

He unwound the chord on the boy's left arm, and the boy made a small cry as the limb fell limply to the ground.

"...S-sorry..." the boy whimpered, turning his tearing eyes away from the hunter's glare. "... It's been so long since I could move it..."

Any other vampire, when given even the smallest chance, would have used what little strength it had to extend its claws and strike. But this... this being was so... weak. Or maybe... no, this was only weakness from decades without blood. His uncle must have also fed it like a human. Perhaps it'd forgotten its blood lust ... but a drop would have been enough to awaken it.

Tezuka placed the pastry in the boy's limp hand before he left.

* * *

Glass 3: Master

* * *

He entered the attic to find the light hair boy asleep, his upper half laying against the column of light as if it were a wall.

After Tezuka had undone the other chord, he'd undone one of the ankle chains, allowing the being to move within its small cage. The inner circle was only four or five feet wide, but at least the creature was less pitiful this way.

Not that Tezuka felt any pity. His goal was only to properly care for the heirloom his uncle had left behind.

He placed the bowl of oatmeal within the circle then settled in his usual place against the wall. He'd set part of a tatami mat down in the corner, having cut it so that it would not lay upon any part of the four ring circle.

The boy's eyes opened slowly, but it did not look sleepy as a human would have. That closed mouth smile appearing on its face, it took the bowl in his hands, as if savoring the feel of the warm ceramic, before it took the spoon and helped itself.

"The light doesn't burn you." The hunter eyed the column of light, which glowed brilliantly in the darkness of the attic.

"No. To me, it feels like glass," the vampire smiled softy as it spoke, its eyes crinkling upwards until the blue could no longer be seen. "But it's stronger than the traditional wards. Things that burn or repulse can be ignored by anyone powerful enough, but barrier magic is absolute."

"..." Tezuka did not directly ask questions, yet the youthful being always seemed to have answers. It liked to chat, he'd learned over the past few days, and it seemed to be less afraid of his cold glares that all others - humans included - shied away from. "In that case," the sharp eyed hunter said in his usual monotone, "the crosses and patches of sunlight are unnecessary."

The boy shook its head. "They aren't here to keep me in. Their purpose is to keep other vampires out."

Frowning, Tezuka almost asked the question that'd been on his mind from the first moment he'd come here, but his lips stayed sealed. This vampire liked to explain things, but as far as the hunter knew its words were all lies.

"... Thank you for the meal, Master." The boy pushed the cleared out bowl as far as it could outside of the barrier. "I liked the walnuts and cranberries mixed in."

"... Did you also call my uncle Master?" It was a question, finally, but not the one he wanted to ask.

"Yes," the boy replied matter-of-factly. "He is ... was not the same as my vampiric master, but he was my master. Now you are my master."

"..." So, the boy was not a pure bred as Tezuka had suspected, but one of the lowly familiars that served a master vampire. Such creatures were of the most pitiful sort, and the most abundant. Older vampires no longer hunted for themselves, and instead created other, lower vampires that would hunt for them... then the masters would feed indirectly from them. Such familiars ran rampant, and were more often prey for hunters than efficient at finding prey themselves.

"At least, that's what I would like to think." The boy turned away from him, leaning against the glass-like column as if to rest.

It was a very long time later that Tezuka understood what he meant.

* * *

Glass 4: Queens

* * *

_He heard screaming, crying, moaning, but all he could see were the blankets crinkled below him. He was lying on his stomach, his arms twisted behind his back, and someone was holding him down. He could hear heavy pain within the cries, but even though he realized he was the one screaming, he could not feel it._

_After all, this was only a dream._

He woke up to sunlight streaming onto his eyes. The dawn was his only wake up call; he was not raised to use alarm clocks or other contraptions and no matter how late a night he had, his body knew better than to let him sleep in.

He cut a loaf of bread for breakfast, buttering some pieces and leaving plain ones for himself. He imagined this must be what it was like to have a dog, or this creature was more like a kitten. Though no cat would appreciate life in a cage. He brought up the bread on one of the white ceramic plates he'd dusted off a few weeks ago.

The boy was not sleeping, but like always his eyes were downcast and blank, his knees tucked against his chest with his arms around them. The remain ankle chain had been removed now, but there was still not enough room for him to even lie down. His expression changed into something more happy once he realized Tezuka was there. The hunter wondered what it was that excited the vampire - the food or the presence of another. Only a total idiot would not be able to tell how bored the creature was.

He pulled out of his pocket a pack of cards that he had found in one of the rooms, and after setting down the buttered bread, handed five of the cards to the boy. The look of shock on the vampire's face was priceless, then it looked as if it were about to cry as it fingered the cards in its hands.

"Do you know how to play poker?" Tezuka asked, ignoring the unnerving bit of emotion this creature showed from time to time. Usually the vampire was calm, soft voiced, and had only a few expressions, but Tezuka had seen that even the smallest acts of kindness could bring out something more. The spartan hunter did not like displays of emotion, particularly from women, but the way the otherworldly brunette would try to pull in his tears, blush a bit and look oddly ashamed for crying was... endearing.

Tezuka did not like how his feelings toward the vampire were starting to change. He hoped he'd have an excuse to kill it soon.

"Yes, yes... at least, I played a bit with the other familiars, but after a while they wouldn't play games of logic with me..."

Sitting on the other side of the barrier, Tezuka placed the deck just inside the column of light so both of them could reach it. He looked at his cards, deciding what to discard and what to keep after a short period of time.

"This isn't really a good game to play with only two people," the vampire chuckled, as it set down two of its cards. It drew two more, pulling them up. "And if there's nothing to bet... let's see..." It looked thoughtful, tilting its head to one side, soft brown locks flowing onto its shoulder. "If I win, you have to tell me your name."

". . ." Pausing, Tezuka wondered why he had never thought of it before. Well, there was no need for him to introduce himself to a vampire; after all, he'd never known a vampire for more than three days, his longest hunt, and he'd certainly never conversed with one. Playing card games was out of the question. "Then... if I win, you must tell me your name and the name of your master."

The vampire's mouth dropped open a little, his smile vanishing. ". . . Then... " he glanced down at his cards, his lips twisting into a smirk and his eyes opening into a sharp dagger of blue. "Should I win, on top of your name... you have to bring me the chocolate croissants from Cafe Saint Marc."

Frowning, Tezuka examined very carefully the look on the vampire's face, the way he held his cards with confidence. If it was a bluff, it was a very good one. But two could play that game. "Then, if I win, instead of pastries, I'll bring you the boxes my uncle dumped my great grandmother's porcelain ballerina collected in and you can dust them off. I'll even bring you soap and sponges."

Chuckling, the vampire's eyes disappeared again as his smile turned merry. "I'd like that, actually. Mmm but the other request is a bit of a problem for me... how about this, since it's just the two of us, if either of us folds then we don't have to grant the requests."

". . . You aren't going to fold." The hunter glared, and the boy's smile grew.

"Then, shall we?" Smiling, he lay down his hand. For all his confidence, he only had a pair of queens, hearts and diamonds.

Eyebrow twitching, Tezuka laid out his own hand. One pair of queens, spades and clubs.

Full out laughing, the vampire set his cards back in the pile. "That's the first time I haven't won in sixty years," he exclaimed. "Then, since we tied, how about we stick with just exchanging names?"

Nodding, the hunter placed his cards on the pile as well, leaving them within the inner circle. "Tezuka Kunimitsu." It had been a long, long time since he had introduced himself without his title of maestro.

"Fuji Syuusuke," the vampire smiled. "It suits me, don't you think?"

"You're Japanese?" Now that he knew, he realized the rounded face, straight hair and small, flat nose were giveaways.

"I'm a quarter English," the boy chuckled, "hence the light hair and eye color. But it wasn't this light for my siblings..." The smile faded, and a blank sadness crept into his eyes as he grew silent.

So, the boy... Fuji still remembered his life before he was a vampire. From what Tezuka had just learned, that would have been at least sixty years ago. Said siblings were probably dead.

He left the plate of bread for the honey brunette to snack on, and nodded in parting before heading off to do his round of sorting for the day.

He was already down the stairs and had begun clearing through the next room, his uncle's library, when he realized the cards hadn't been shuffled.

* * *

A/N: According to babynamesworld, Syuusuke means 'to learn meditation.' Fuj is joking because this is about all he can do while trapped in the circle. Of course, he also just bragged about always winning games of logic, so he's referring to his family name Fuji as well, which means 'peerless; unparalleled.'

* * *

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Circle

* * *

Glass 5: Order

* * *

He entered the attic to find the youthful looking vampire cheerfully rubbing a porcelain figure of a humanoid cat in a white tutu. He'd given Fuji a large stack of polishing cloths and a few bottles of cleaning liquid after the honey brunette had asked, with large shimmering eyes, to be allowed to clean the figure collection. Tezuka had also found a large lazy susan in the pantry, so the boy could place the polished figures carefully upon it and then rotate it outside of the circle he himself could not exit. It gave the boy a little more space. The way the ballet-themed figures had been so carefully and elegantly arranged on the round wooden board was sort of... pretty.

"Good evening, Tezuka!" The light haired vampire looked up at him cheerfully, excitement growing in his eyes when he saw the hunter was carrying a package along with two bento boxes.

Nodding in acknowledgment, the hunter set down the bentos and handed the package to the boy within the cage of light. Glancing at the lazy susan, it seemed the vampire hadn't slept since being given the dusty boxes the day before, by the number of figures that had been meticulously cleaned. Tezuka still wasn't sure if the vampire even had to sleep, but since he'd found Fuji sleeping many times he assumed so.

To his surprise, the lithe brunette did not tear open the package but carefully undid the chord and unfolded the paper, looking like he was about to cry again. He held up the clothing inside, a loose khaki shirt and wide leg pants, simple but well made.

Shoulders shaking, he buried his face in the shirt, hugging it so tightly to his chest the tips of his fingers turned white. "Tha...thank you-you... thank you... thank you..thank you..."

" . . . " Why was it always the tiniest things that brought this boy to tears? That he'd left the boy naked for so long was a cruelty in itself. The brunette should have be angry that Tezuka hadn't brought clothes sooner. "... I don't know if it'll fit. You'll have to try them on."

For some reason, this made the vampire cry harder. "I... I can't..."

Eyes narrowing, Tezuka hesitantly asked, "Do you... need help?"

"No...no...," a chuckle mixed into the sobbing, "Tha-thank you... I can't... I've been ordered ... to only wear woman's clothing."

" . . . What?"

"He - my vampiric master, ordered that I can never wear anything that's not woman's clothes."

Tezuka's glare pierced through the column, but the boy kept his face hidden in the cloth. "Why?"

"... To humiliate me, most likely."

For a familiar, an order from the master was absolute. There was no defiance, whether conscious or unconscious. It was simply something that was always followed, at least, according to lore.

"... What other orders did he give you?" Tezuka stepped closer to the circle, kneeling so that he could on the boy's level. He placed his hand on Fuji's ear, then slowly drew it along his cheek, cupping below his chin and lifting it up so they could be eye to eye.

The cerulean orbs were not filled with tears like the hunter had expected, but a swirl of emotions mixed within them - fear, uncertainty, anticipation, shame, and happiness... the small brunette's soul was inside his eyes.

"Only one other," the boy replied calmly, "that I shall never drink the master's blood."

The blood of freedom. One drop, and Fuji would be his own master.

"And if you defy the order?"

The boy looked away. "Even if it's not intentional, I'll be punished. ... A couple of the other familiars thought it would be funny to put me in a t-shirt and jeans, since I always wore dresses... they didn't know why, so ... Not long after, I woke up to the numbing pain, and it grew worse and worse... and then my master was given the power to make me live or die. It was only a prank so of course he let it go..."

_Fuji lay stiffly on the floor, clothed in normal attire for a teenage, his limbs laid out at weird angles and his eyes wide open and unblinking. His body twitched uncontrollably, his mouth fallen open in a silent scream. Tears of blood leaked from his eyes..._

Shaking away the image, Tezuka collected a few of the empty boxes, and set the edges of them within the inner circle so Fuji could reach them to place the figures back inside. He left both of the bentos as well, deciding he would come and eat his later. He didn't have much of an appetite at that point.

He took the pants down with him along with the rags that had been used, but had to leave the shirt.

It did not look like Fuji would let go of it any time soon.

* * *

Glass 6: Warning

* * *

He tore through the trunk of clothes, having realized that they were not left behind by visitors over time as he had first thought. There were too many frills and outrageous colors, but finally he found a simple white one that was alright.

He'd sorted through most of the rooms except for the library and the kitchen and a few of the gathering rooms, that didn't have much in them anyway. He still had three more weeks until the time he said he'd return to his family. Whether that meant three more weeks to be with Fuji, or three more weeks until he killed him, he hadn't decided.

The vampire didn't cry this time, but he did smile gratefully as he pulled the white summer dress over his head. It had a small ruffle across the top and at the bottom of the skirt, half-inch shoulder straps, and a tiny white bow just below the upper ruffle. At least it wasn't ridiculous like the others in the trunk. And... it suited him. Fuji could not be called anything but cute.

"You think I look like a girl," the blue-eyed brunette pouted, his lips pulled in a tiny frown, his eyes glaring but not too seriously. Tezuka just shook his head without comment and went back to his tatami mat, settling down so he could eat his oyakodon in piece. Fuji gave a little humph before mumbling "itadakimasu" and turning his chopsticks on his own steaming bowl.

Unlike the food Tezuka bought, Fuji had begun complimenting the food the hunter made himself. The brunette gave the highest form of compliment, which meant he gave constructive criticisms as well - the egg was cooked just right, there was the perfect amount of salt and pepper, the chicken could be sliced into smaller pieces. It was amusing in a way, for a vampire to be such a food critique, but it was clear from the way he talked that Fuji had once been quite a cook himself, or at least liked cooking.

"Who taught you how to cook?" Tezuka asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"Mmm," Fuji placed his chopsticks on his bowl with a quiet "gochisousamadeshita," licking his lips in thought. "My sister, when she came to visit me. The priests were terrible cooks because-"

"Priests?"

The sharp tone in the hunter's voice startled the brunette, who quietly replied, "I grew up in a monastery, before I was turned."

"But you had a family."

"... Yes. But I was entrusted to the priests when I was very young. They came to visit me though..."

"Why?" Hazel eyes glared sharply, causing the effeminate vampire to drop his head submissively, his bangs falling in front of his face and shadowing his eyes.

"I... there's something I want to show you. Can...you bring me a first aid kit?"

Glaring warily, Tezuka left and returned with a large white box bearing the red cross symbol, that his mother had forced him to bring with him. Fuji opened it and took out a few things, his eyes cast downward to avoid the hunter's warning glare. "Let me see your hand. That one."

Tezuka consented only because it was his right hand, while his left hand hung loosely next to the silver dagger tied to his thigh.

Fuji wore a tiny smile, his eyes glimmering with the warmth of being trusted, as he pulled off the black leather glove Tezuka always wore. Gently the brunette squeezed neosporin onto a small cut Tezuka hadn't even noticed on his index finger, and wrapped it with a band-aid.

"It's already the rainy season, nee? You have to be careful, even of tiny cuts."

Frowning, Tezuka pulled his hand away, watching guardedly as Fuji carefully repacked the kit. It was true that his work was much busier during the winter, as the short, cloudy days invited those who loathed sunshine to come out and play. A heavy feeling sank in his gut at the realization that Fuji had smelled the blood, even from a minute cut that no longer bled.

The vampire on the other hand looked rather pleased with himself. He handed over the empty bowl but kept the kit in his circle, as if it were another precious thing. Between it, the khaki shirt, and the one porcelain ballerina he'd kept, he didn't have any space. Tezuka imagined that Fuji must have been a terrible junk collector and driven the monks and then his vampiric master crazy.

For some reason, that was an amusing thought.

He took the bowls downstairs to wash them, Fuji's lightly given warning echoing heavily in his ears.

* * *

Glass 7: Bats

* * *

The grey sky looked down upon him as he trudged back to the mansion, a heavy coat draped on his arm in addition to the one he wore. He was thankful that the rain had stopped, but the chill and dreary weather continued to plague him as he walked.

When the porch came into view, his blood stopped cold in his veins.

He dropping the woman's peacoat on the path, running towards the entrance with his kodachi drawn. This blade of silver he kept with him always when outside, and he was thankful that he also had a veil of holy water and a heavy rosary packed with him as well, along with a few other tools.

Floating in front of the door, legs crossed and leaning comfortable back, as if sitting in an invisible arm chair, was an elegantly dressed, silver haired man with his fingers pressed oddly against his forehead. Perched on his lap and shoulders were half a dozen small brown bats, familiars that were too weak to transform during the day, even with the sun tucked behind clouds. A tiny circular birthmark decorated the spot below his right eye, a tell tale sign of who he was.

"You!" Tezuka roared, his hunter's blood thrumming to life, his hand clenched around his short sword and every one of his hairs on end. The pompous seeming vampire smirked at him as if amused, waving his hand against the air as if in greeting.

"Kabaji," the vampire drawled, and the largest of the bats, much more sizely than the rest, grunted in response. "Showtime's over. Take Jiroh and the others home. I have business to attend to."

He stood, his feet floating nearly a foot off the ground, his long coat tails drifting around him. One of the tiny bats that had been sleeping on his lap fell to the porch and was carried off by the Kabaji bat, the other bats following behind. Tezuka could care less about them; there was something far more dangerous before him.

"Leave," the hunter growled, his blade poised before him. "You are not welcome here."

Laughing airily, the lustrous vampire waved his hand in dismissal. "True, without an invitation, I can not enter. However, my dear Tezuka-kun," the diva smirked, it was clear he thought very highly of himself, "-oh yes, I know who you are, you Shinten maestros all look the same. Your dear Uncle Jyake promised that I could visit once, after his death." He stretched forward, his head leaning impossibly over the threatening silver, his lips twisting into a careless grin. "I came to see the kitten I let him borrow."

In an instant, his body twirled into a black gust of wind, as the doors behind him slammed open and the dark stream shot inside. It happened so quickly that Tezuka froze for a moment before charging inside after it. He didn't have to search the house; he raced up the stairs, his footsteps and heart pounding as he grabbed his katana on the way.

He stopped dead just before climbing the steps to the attic, catching his breath for a moment so he could figure out what was going on. A vision came to him, he could see in his mind the image of the attic as if he were there, standing in the center.

_The silver haired demon stepped into the outer circle, completely ignoring the streaks of sunlight piercing through the ceiling holes. As he approached the ring of crosses, the ones closest to him began to shake violently. He swung out his arm, and several of the crosses tore from the floor as if ripped out by an invisibly hand, flying outward. Stepping through the broken ring, he reached towards the inner circle with a smirk._

_The column of light flashed to life as his hand contacted the circle's perimeter. His superior smirk twisted into a frown as he pressed his palm against the glass-like cylinder. His lips moved but no sound came out. He knocked on the glass, his eyebrows narrowing in annoyance, he was saying something but Tezuka couldn't hear any words. There was a pause, the diva was looking at him so intensely, growing anger marring the nobleman's features._

Tezuka squeezed his fist so hard his nails cut into his palm, snapping him out of the hallucination. He'd seen everything from Fuji's view, somehow, and suddenly nothing mattered more than for him to race up the stairs.

He burst into the room to see Atobe's claws streaking across the glass, the diva's face twisted in frustration. "This isn't the magic of a hunter," the vampire snarled, pounding on the column which glowed brightly in response. Fuji was huddled back against the glass as far from the diva as possible, cerulean eyes filled with terror.

"I can't hear you," the brunette sobbed, "I don't understand..."

"Even sound cannot pass through!" The diva shrieked furiously. They were both too focused on each other to notice Tezuka's arrival.

This was his only chance. He knew how powerful this vampire was, and that he was ill prepared. He dashed forward as quietly and quickly as possible, his katana unsheathed. Fuji looked up and noticed him at the last moment and screamed, "Tezuka, don't!"

His strike was swift, and the diva, who could not hear the brunette's scream, was caught off guard. The blade was barely inches from the vampire's throat, but the inhuman noble caught the scent of blood on Tezuka's palm and turned in a flash. The katana's tip just barely clipped the diva's cheek, a thin, long cut bleeding across it. In the same instant, the vampire's claws shot out reactively at the hunter, who somehow managed to dodge all but one, which pierced deeply into his left shoulder.

"Aaaaah!" Tezuka screamed in pain, throwing himself backward while slicing with the blade at the same time. The motion forced the vampire to jump away, and luckily the diva got caught by some of the crosses and let out a yelp before his psychokinetic powers ripped them away.

It did not buy Tezuka much time. He was able to slam his back against a wall, holding his sword shakily before him along with one of the streaks of sunlight, but he must have looked like a feeble wounded human before the powerful being that was glaring at him with disdain.

The diva looked much calmer now that he was no longer surprised. His claws turned back into normal fingers, and he ran his pointer along the cut on his cheek. After licking the blood off his finger tips, both Tezuka's and his own, the wound vanished. Huffing, the vampire stared at the the hunter for an awful second, licking his lips, then sighed.

"Well, if you're good enough to cut me, I suppose I can leave him here for a bit longer."

And then he was gone.

* * *

Glass 8: Questions

* * *

_The attic steps creaked beneath him as he walked up steadily, balancing a large saucer of crimson liquid in his hands. He could see his reflection in the red pool, and his uncle's face stared back at him. His uncle was much younger than Tezuka could remember him ever being, maybe in his thirties, but the long scar down his forehead and cheek confirmed it was him._

_As always Fuji was in the center of the magic circle, his arms and ankles bound by the silver chords and chains. He was not sleeping or downcast, as Tezuka had always found him, but struggling uselessly in his binds. Terror flushed across his face and body, and his whimpers were indiscernible other than "no" and "please."_

_Tezuka, well, it was really his uncle, balanced the saucer with one hand and used the other to grip Fuji's cheeks. He pressed hard against the vampire's jaw, forcing his mouth open, his eyes beaded and shaking as the blood was poured down his throat._

_Jyake stepped back with a chuckle, and the brunette went from struggling to all out thrashing, and screams, horrible screams tore from his lips. It took Tezuka a second to realize what was going on; as the vampire flushed pink with his fill of blood, the black scars on his arms and legs started to heal. At the same time, the silver wrapped around them burned into the newly healed flesh, recreating the scars the moment they vanished._

_Fuji screamed and screamed, smoke rising from the burning skin as it was torn into again and again. Tears of blood flowed from his eyes, but only after his throat was long dead and he was barely half conscious did the blood turn to water. Everything he had drunk had finally been used up in his body's failed attempt at self healing._

_Jyake was laughing. Tezuka could not see his face but he could feel his glee. His uncle drew his hand along Fuji's arm, caressing the charcoal scars, then along his neck and against his lips. He pushed his fingers into Fuji's mouth, daring the vampire to bite him, pulling them in and out until they were practically fucking his throat._

_Tezuka's arm throbbed with pain, and he wanted nothing more than to grab his uncle and slam him into the wall._

Tezuka's eyes shot open, the pain in his arm as great as it had been in his dream. That part was not a dream, he realized, as he flashed back to the pompous vampire stabbing him with his claw. He must have blacked out.

The column of light glowed hauntingly, telling him it was already nighttime. His shoulder hurt like hell. The puncture wound was deep but it hadn't pierced all the way through, and at least it wasn't too large. He would have died from blood loss already if that were the case.

His eyes fell on Fuji, and as he pushed himself up, his teeth bared in anger. The brunette was banging against the glass, calling to him, the same way the diva had banged against it hours earlier. Tezuka stomped over to the cage, the image of that small black beauty mark burned into his vision. His good arm shot out, grabbing Fuji by the neck and slamming him against the wall of light.

"Your master is Atobe Keigo," Tezuka snarled, his fingers digging into the brunette's throat.

"Yes," Fuji choked out weakly, his face contorted in pain but his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"His familiars alone are more powerful than many pure breds. His family is the oldest and wealthiest in all of Japan. He's from the Third Dawn."

"Yes," his voice was growing weaker, but lack of oxygen wouldn't kill him. Beings of evil couldn't be killed bare handed.

"He's one of the most powerful vampires in all of east asia."

"Ye-..e.."

"Why didn't he kill me?"

Tezuka loosened his hold, only so he could slam the vampire into the glass again, again and again, until his desire for answers finally overcame his anger just enough for him to pause and let Fuji talk.

"He was- ... - testing you - .. - to see if you were strong enough to protect me-..."

The hand tightened one last time, eliciting a choking gasp from the brunette, before Tezuka dropped him to the floor. Fuji collapsed like a doll, gasping and holding his throat as he recovered.

"Tell me who you are. Tell me _what_ you are." Tezuka's eyes were not cold and calm like usual, but hot and burning with anger. The questions he'd always wanted to ask poured out like lava, as images of Fuji, sitting calmly, eating bento, being force fed blood, bandaging his hand, flashed through his mind. "Why did my uncle keep you here? Why didn't he kill you? Why are you so special?"

"I will, I swear," Fuji's coarse voice broke with a sob. "I'll tell you anything, I promise. Just please, please let me treat you. You've already lost so much blood... please, please..."

Fuji cried quietly to himself on the floor while Tezuka stood panting, his racing heart thrumming loudly in his ears. The brunette was right, even the hunter could smell his blood stained on the floor, and as he came down from his angry high he realized how dizzy he was.

He plopped cross legged inside the circle, and once he was down his strength drained from him. If Fuji wanted to kill him, now was his chance. Instead the cerulean eyed vampire opened the medical kit, producing some antiseptic, along with a needle and thread. It was a rough treatment, and Tezuka flinched as the alcohol burned into his wound, but his expression remained stony as the brunette put in stitches.

A moment before Tezuka had been screaming questions, and a moment after that Fuji had promised he would give him answers. But now they just sat, a little dazed, a little dizzy, and both were hurt in different ways. Tezuka was too sleepy now to be angry, he had no strength left, but something about Fuji's deeply worried expression made him want to hide his weakness. He wished he could lean against the light, rest against it the way Fuji did, but unlike the vampire he simply passed through as though nothing was there. He did not feel different from Fuji, so why did the magic treat him differently?

Fuji wrapped the wound with white strips, then leaned his head toward the wound, placing his lips on the bandages.

Tezuka was shocked. He wanted to grab the vampire to throw him aside, but he had no more strength. After all this, was Fuji finally going to end it? Then why had the brunette treated him? The blood had been wiped away, the stained cloth discarded outside the circle. To further his surprise, the vampire had not bared his fangs, but returned back to sitting after giving the aching shoulder a kiss.

For several seconds, Fuji just sat calmly with his eyes quietly downcast, then he glanced up at Tezuka's face. Whatever he saw there must have surprised him, for his eyes doubled in size and suddenly he turned away blushing.

"I, I'm sorry! You probably weren't expecting that... I..." Biting his lower lip, the vampire was at a loss for words, and he started packing away the first aid kit nervously. "Pl...please, go and rest. You need sleep."

Considering the fact he was almost seeing double, Tezuka couldn't disagree. He wasn't sure he could make it to his room, though, or even down the attic stairs for that matter without falling. He pulled himself forward, invading Fuji's small circle, and put his hand on top of Fuji's. He meant to grip the vampire in warning, but he had no strength so this was all he could manage.

"You... will give me answers..." The double sight was more like triple sight, or just blurry and almost black...

"I promise," he heard Fuji whisper. Satisfied, he laid his head on the only soft thing he could find, which was Fuji's lap, and let his eyes close.

* * *

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

Circle

* * *

Glass 9: Want

* * *

It was sort of amusing, how Fuji cleaned his tiny area while Tezuka sponged down the rest of the attic.

"Start with why you were in a monastery," Tezuka said. It was clear to him that Fuji was not a priest, which probably meant he was there for protection. But if he was some kind of royalty, his family wouldn't have been able to visit him the way he had mentioned.

Nodding, Fuji wrung out his sponge, though the blood in his area had been thoroughly swiped away by this point. "I'll try, but honestly Tezuka, there's not much I can tell you..." He could feel the hunter's death glare on his back, making him smile. "I'll start from the beginning then.

"In my family, there is a line of very strong Shinto shrine maidens, going back many generations. All the women in our family, including my older sister and my mother, are gifted in the supernatural arts.

"My family members were very surprised when I, being male, displayed the same abilities. I don't know what they thought at the time, but I heard there was some sort of dispute among the local shrines. My sister, being a carefree teenager, had fun teaching me magic anyway, but this made everything worse. The spells she had learned in her pre-teens I was already mastering at the age of 5. By age 8, I already knew most of the spells she did, and by age 10, the barriers I made and the purification magic I used was stronger than most priests.

"But it was long before that that I was committed to the monastery. I think my sister had already started teaching me when they sent me there, but I don't know if that was the reason why. The priests called me a prodigy, they praised my abilities greatly but they never praised me. Those who saw me as a child saw me as an odd child, and left me alone, and the remaining priests saw me and treated me as an adult. I was told very little. What I do know about myself and my family I learned from my sister.

"I don't know if my parents wanted me to go to the monastery, or if the priests insisted I be left in their care. The Catholics in that area are a part of the strongest branch in Japan. There were many times I wished I could be with my family, who I knew loved me, but now I am glad that I was sent there. It was safer for my family that way.

"After I turned 12, the priests started being very anxious. They started worrying about every little thing I did. They stopped letting me leave the monastery; I was not allowed to pass the fence. I could only eat certain foods that were deemed healthy for me. If I caught a cold, they would call Nee-san and my mother and they would all dote over me as if I had the plague.

"I couldn't stand it, and when I was 14 I tried to run away. I somehow made it to my parent's shrine, and hid with help from my brother Yuuta, but some monks noticed me and I was sent back. I think it was because of this incident that _they_ noticed me... but I'll never know.

"I was 14 and a half when..."

His voice trailed off, and Tezuka remained silent while he dumped his blood-stained sponge onto a pile of dirty rags. He took a new one and continued his cleaning.

It was clear just looking at Fuji what had happened when he was fourteen. Tezuka would have even guessed Fuji might have been closer to 12 when he was turned, based on his small and boyish figure.

"How did you get caught by them," Tezuka asked, setting aside his task so he could give the vampire his full attention. He'd gotten all of the blood cleaned up, but he had planned to clean up the dust and dirt as well since he was already at it.

"I, I didn't." Fuji furrowed his brow, lines of confusion marking his forehead. "I ... when I was fourteen and a half, the head priest and a few others took me out in the dead of night and... and gave me to them. They had some sort of agreement already worked out. I ... they told me it was to protect me, because they were afraid of me aging, of me dying or growing ill... "

"That's impossible," Tezuka interrupted, a frown etched deeply into his face. "The church would never collaborate with beings of evil."

"You don't have to believe me," Fuji replied. "But I ... I think I was sold to Atobe Keigo."

The vampire was quiet for a long time as Tezuka went back to cleaning the floors. He left to change the water and get new sponges. Fuji's story seemed strange, but no more so than the situation the vampire was currently in. Tezuka could not imagine a Catholic priest giving a child over to a predator, to a vampire especially, their arch enemies. But he did know enough about politics to not put it below the Church, if there were some sort of great advantage they found, to cut deals with even their most bitter rivals. Humans were sometimes more evil than the blood suckers they fought.

Fuji was waiting for him when he returned, and it looked like the brunette was ready to say more. "I promised I'd tell you everything, so I will," he continued. "At first, being a vampire was wonderful. It wasn't because of strength, or youth, or anything like that. I wasn't any stronger than before, I still slept normally at night and I was honestly very sad that I'd no longer grow. I've always been small for my age but I hoped I'd get a little taller...

"But living at Atobe's mansion was a new world for me. In the monastery, they treated me like an adult, and I had to take care of myself. In the mansion, I was treated like a child. In their eyes, I truly was a child, more like a new born, and they loved to tease me and play with me and spoil me... I'd never had friends before, and even though they can be a little cruel at times, the familiars there are some of the most loyal, passionate, and amazing people you'll ever meet. I loved being with them as much as they loved the entertainment I brought them. I was the newest toy, and for eternal beings, well... it's boring, living forever." Fuji added with a laugh, "but I think I've learned more about boredom in the last fifty years than Atobe has in the last six hundred."

Nodding, Tezuka let the vampire know with his eyes that this story was more than enough. He doubted Fuji wanted to share stories of being a vampire any more than he wanted to hear Tezuka share stories about slaying them.

"So how did you end up here," he asked. This was the question he truly needed to learn the answer to.

Sighing, Fuji looked sad, even more so then when he recalled being traded by the priests. "It wasn't too different from what happened at the monastery.

"It seems I brought some sort of trouble to Atobe. The other familiars would whisper to each other, about other clans causing... problems. I don't know, but I got the impression they didn't want me there. Atobe said I was important to him, that ... that he loved me, and that he would protect me. I don't think he meant in a romantic way, but even when he's bossy and cruel and acts like he's the world's most superior being, he really does everything to ensure his familiars are taken care of. He treated me very well, as well as he did his oldest familiars, but...

"I don't know what happened between Atobe and Master Tez- Jyake, but somehow I ended up here. Jyake... had his own reasons for wanting me here. Atobe had too many other things to take care of. I ... was pretty useless as a familiar. And I think... the same thing the priests were worried about also worried Atobe.

"Jyake probably wanted me here... trapped in the attic like this... for the same reasons they did."

_It wasn't_ me _they wanted._

Tezuka felt like he could hear the honey brunette's thoughts as well as his words. Fuji was a sad being, but a calm being, and somehow Tezuka could understand him.

He then did something he shouldn't have done, but the hunter had already broken every other self imposed taboo and boundary. He no longer cared.

He stepped into Fuji's little circle and hugged him.

* * *

Glass 10: Tea

* * *

_It was pitch black outside the cathedral, a clouded sky and the shadows of thick trees creating a starless night. Four of them went ahead of him, three priests and one short teenager. The head priest, distinguished by his flowing bishop's robes, held the teenager's arm in a tight grip, though the brown haired youth showed no signs of resisting._

_One of the priests, a bald man with a young face, nodded at him, and whoever Tezuka was seeing through the eyes of nodded back._

_"You're to stay hidden near the trees," instructed the bald priest. "If this doesn't go well, then activate the wards. I doubt we'll have a problem, though."_

_"...Will we be out long?" asked Fuji in his soft voice. There was something...younger about him, more innocent, though he looked exactly the same. The only difference was his clothes, a set of plaid pajamas that were made for a boy._

_"No, child, not long," assured the bishop. But Tezuka could see the youth was no fool. Fuji looked sad but resigned as he nodded, accepting the lie._

_They did not walk far from the cathedral. Tezuka stopped as the others continued into a clearing, well in his view. They waited for several minutes, calm and quiet, until night insects were the only things to be heard._

_Then _he_ appeared. It was clear what he was, and even though Fuji most likely did not know his name, Atobe made clear from his stance who he was - wealthy, influential, and terrifyingly strong. He flew into the clearing, so swiftly it was as if he'd materialized there. No signs of bats or hidden familiars were around him, his confidence rolling off in waves even in the presence of the priests' large silver crosses._

_The elite vampire and the bishop exchanged understanding nods, and Atobe fixed his eyes on the lithe teenager, the look of a predator etched on his face._

_"So this is him." He did not get closer to the priests, yet his presence seemed to grow upon them, or rather, upon Fuji. "Tell me how old you are, boy."_

_"I'm fourteen," the brunette replied flatly, his cold blue eyes glaring sharply. He had a brave front, but be it from cold or fear he was shivering slightly._

_"I see, you're no longer a child then." The diva's tone was mocking._

_"Nee-san says I'm a child until I stop growing," the teenager replied. The bishop released his arm but he stayed close to them._

_The vampire replied with a tacit grin, his fangs glittering in the dim light._

_"Go to him," the bishop murmured, knowing the brunette understood. The boy was too smart for his own good._

_Fuji shook his head, looking up at him with a strangely calm face, as if to say,_ Will you push me forward if I don't?

_"It will be better this way," the bald priest interrupted. "You'll stay young and beautiful." He placed his hand on the brunette's head, a hypocritically endearing move that made the boy tremble. "You'll never grow ill, you'll never be old. You'll heal the instant you're hurt. You'll be protected from all the things that plague you as a human."_

_Fuji stood frozen, not moving an inch. By the look in his eyes, it was clear that he fully understood what was about to happen to him, and how terrified he was._

_A silvery laugh broke the tension, as Atobe sat back on his invisible cushion, legs crossed as if settling in for tea time. "Forget all that, it isn't important anyway," the diva drawled, waving his hand in dismissal. "What you really should ask yourself is if you really want to stay with _them_ after they've forced you into _this_?"_

_Silver eyes with rims glowing gold locked solely on sky blue ones, the question going deep into the teenager's core. They stayed focused only on each other, and the priests, including the one who Tezuka was seeing through, could tell they were being ignored._

_"Think of this not as a trap, but as an escape."_

_The words moved Fuji, and his legs moved as well. He was slow, shaking, but the distance was short, and Atobe loomed over him with twinkling eyes and a twisted smirk. The ancient vampire was beautiful amidst the darkness of the trees, his delicately shaped face and silver hair glowing in the night, accented by a small mole that dotted below his right eye like a tear drop. He was flying, even though he sat still, his black cape fluttering in a wind that touched no others but him._

_Below him, the light haired teenager seemed like a trembling flower about to be crushed. Fuji was beautiful in a different way, his skin not yet having that ethereal glow, but his shape even in the night shirt was the epitome of youthful purity. His crystalline eyes held out in the darkness, shimmering with a light of their own._

_"In order to complete the deal, there is one condition." The diva's words were directed towards the priests, though his eyes stayed only on Fuji. "You all must stay and watch as he's turned."_

_"As you wish," the bishop nodded calmly. Despite the surreal moment, they did not show any signs of being moved, of being weary or entranced. They were simply there - calm, uncaring, business men there to complete a transaction._

_Fuji shuddered as Atobe's hand stretched out to caress his neck, the illustrious connection broken as the boy came to his senses._

_"Take of your clothes," the diva ordered, his eyes already turning a molten gold as they filled with both sexual and blood lust. Fuji looked like he wanted to refuse, but with shaking fingers unbuttoned his nightshirt. The vampire licked his lips as the pale chest was exposed, along with a clean view of that pulsating neck._

_The brunette hesitated before removing his pants, as if asking if this was enough, but he did slip them off. Beneath was a set of stripped boxer shorts, and Tezuka had the notion that Fuji's mother or sister provided all of his clothing even though he didn't live with them._

_The diva waved his hand, but this time Fuji shook his head. Laughing, Atobe curled his hand, and the brunette's body glowing briefly before being lifted up by telekinetic forces. His arms were forced to cross over his chest, and he was terrified to the point of silence by his body being controlled. The diva was clearly enjoying himself as he turned a couple of nails into long claws, and sliced the feeble boxers in a few places so that they drifted to the ground._

_Fuji blushed heavily as his body was fully exposed. It was obvious now that he was fully developed, though this was a sight Tezuka had seen many times. Since neither he nor Fuji had thought much of it, it hadn't seemed like an issue, but in this time, seeing how embarrassed and distressed the brunette was over being naked, Tezuka felt a sudden self-consciousness shame over the view. But the man hiding in the woods did not close his eyes or look away, nor did the other priests._

_They calmly looked on as Atobe bent over the boy, rubbing his hand seductively down the exposed skin before his teeth sank into the boy's neck._

_Fuji gasped, then moaned. His body twisted and relaxed, his head fell back and his cheeks were no longer flushed from shame but from something else. A strong aphrodisiac laced a vampire's fangs. It was only a dozen seconds, and Fuji's body language changed, his hips pushed upwards and his piece of manhood pointed up towards the sky. The vampire pulled his mouth away, clearly pleased with himself, and kept Fuji elevated in the air so that the priests had a full view._

_"Even with my awe inspiring prowess, like any vampire I can only drink so much of a virgin's blood," the diva announced. He licked the small wound, and Fuji whimpered fearfully as the aphrodisiac faded. Atobe placed his hands on Fuji's ankles, fingers sliding up in between the brunette's legs, one hand going to caress the boy's length while the other moved onto his butt cheeks._

_A cry shot through the night as Atobe pressed his fingers into the boy's anus, not giving any time for adjustment. Fuji's legs were drawn up and wrapped around the vampire's torso, and the black cape and suit no longer seemed to be clothing, but had fluttered off the diva and formed an elegant sail of wings over his back. Atobe laughed before sinking his teeth back into the boy's neck artery, at the same time shoving his cock up into Fuji's ass._

_And then the night was full of screams. Fuji was screaming and moaning, twisting and thrashing as his body was pumped and ravished, his crimson life force being stolen, and at the same time the drug of love making flooding into his libido. The view of his backside showed blood trickling down his thighs along with cum, but Atobe kept pounding until he was satisfied, both with his dick and with his fangs. It was not much longer before Fuji exploded, his cock releasing white spurts of seed, and only after his screaming died down could his sobs also be heard._

_The calm, collected expressions of the priests never changed._

Monsters! _Tezuka was helpless in a vision of the past, but he felt his fists clench nonetheless. All of them. All of them._

_The diva drew himself away well sated, leaving the brunette's body dangling in the air like a trophy, showcasing his work. Fuji's eyes fluttered open and closed as he tried to stay conscious, but pale skin betrayed his blood loss. There was still a chance, a slight chance, that the boy would live even if he wasn't turned. But the priests made no sign of intervention, even though the diva seemed to wait for them, a bemused smirk on his face._

_What was out of place was the small glimmer of anger that danced in the vampire's eyes, but Tezuka thought that could have been his imagination._

_Sighing loftily to himself, Atobe fluttered back down, the black cloth flowing around both him and Fuji, encasing both of their bodies. The diva brought his own wrist to his mouth, cutting it open with a fang, and let a few crimson droplets fall onto the brunette's pale, thin lips._

_And then the screaming really began._

The ringing bell of the door forced him awake, and its repetition encouraged him to hurriedly throw on his day clothes. For a brief moment Tezuka wondered if it was his parents, since he'd given them notice that he'd extended his stay for another month, but realistically it couldn't be.

He thought over his conversation from the day before as he headed down the stairs. In the end, Tezuka still hadn't learned why Fuji was so important to both the church and the vampires. His story was too strange; he was both desired and unwanted, celebrated and then cast aside. But other than his brief mention of being strong with magic, Tezuka could not see anything special about the lithe brunette. But even without any evidence, he could tell something was there.

Jyake had not liked useless things, but he'd definitely liked Fuji.

The bell rang again, irritatingly. Tezuka jerked open the door, expecting some sales person or neighbor's kid come to bother him and was ready to slam it back shut. He was surprised when instead, a calm looking young man in a beige raincoat stood smiling at him from the welcome mat.

"Good morning," the youth politely greeted. His dark, blueish hair fell in waves to the top of his shoulders, his face curved and effeminate with long eyelashes and a small, elfish nose. Even when Tezuka gave cold silence as his reply, his smile didn't falter. It was a little like Fuji's, close mouthed and hiding his eyes, but it didn't have an infinite depth of sadness melted inside it. This smile was kind, but calm and little calculating as well.

"Ano..." he continued, undeterred by the hunter's glare, "We found this very nice coat on the path out side. It's a little bit muddy but nothing I can't clean with a tub and some soap." Draped on his arm along with a yellow umbrella was the heavy pea-coat Tezuka had forgotten in light of Atobe's intrusion the day before.

"... You can't come in," Tezuka replied dryly. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a tall, dark haired figure standing a little ways down the entry path. A serious, disconcerted expression was etched on the familiar looking man's face.

The blue haired beauty drew back the hunter's attention with a sigh. "You're just like I was told. You're quite different from Jyake." The youth set his umbrella next to the door. "Well, it won't make you feel any better, but I'm already allowed to enter-"

He took one step inside the entrance before Tezuka slammed him against the door, pressing a silver knife to his throat.

"Just how many vampires did my uncle invite in?" Tezuka snarled at the vampire, who was still smiling though his eyebrows drooped with disconcertion.

"Tezuka," called the man on the path, his voice low but strong. "I know you won't believe me, but he won't hurt you."

"Sanada Genichirou, it _is_ you," Tezuka growled. "What do you think you're doing with-"

"We came because of Fuji Syuusuke." Ignoring the blade which was inches away from ending his immortal life, the vampire looked at him with calm, twinkling eyes.

Tezuka did not lower the knife, but his tone was slightly subdued as he grunted, "How do you know about him?" Other than Jyake and the Atobe clan, the bespectacled hunter was under the impression that no one else knew that Fuji was caged in the attic. That was, at least, how the honey haired brunette had made it sound.

"I've been here before, many times to see Jyake," the vampire spoke with a gentle voice. The tone reminded Tezuka of his mother when she was comforting him. "Fuji was here as well, though it's been many years since I was last here."

"Tezuka, I've been with Yukimura for many years, and he's never hurt me," voiced Sanada, placing a hand on the brunette's elbow. Tezuka stared very hard at his raven haired cousin, whom he hadn't seen in half a decade, before slowly lowering his blade. His hand stayed clenched around the handle though.

"You're saying that this is Yukimura Seiichi, another vampire from the Third Dawn," Tezuka growled, his hairs on edge. The smile that the vampire gave him in return was confirmation of his statement.

"Another?" Sanada questioned.

"I told you, didn't I? That Atobe was here." Yukimura's expression didn't change, but his air darkened somehow as he added, "I can smell him. You must be as talented as Genichirou says, if that prima donna decided not to kill you." Now released, he calmly walked towards the kitchen, clearly familiar with the layout of the house.

"Tezuka, I swear on my sword that Yukimura is not an enemy," Sanada breathed, locking his charcoal eye with Tezuka's hazel ones. Five years ago was the last time the hunters had seen each other. They were only a year apart, cousins through the Shinten line, though there had never been more than a professional rivalry between them. They had hunted together, fought together, shed blood together... Sanada was someone Tezuka trusted with his life.

Whether or not that was still the case was yet to be seen. Grimacing, the bespectacled hunter turned and led his cousin into the house. He heard a clinking of glasses, and was surprised to find the effeminate vampire setting out tea cups on the living room table.

"The tea I left is still here," Yukimura explained, as he broke tiny pieces of curled black leaves into the tea pot. "This is jinya cha, it improves with age." He disappeared in the direction of the kitchen for a moment, leaving the two hunters to glare at each other, before returning with a kettle of hot water. "Let's have a chat, shall we?

* * *

Glass 11: Bait

* * *

Tezuka had only let Yukimura go because he knew he couldn't kill him. Even as a master hunter, no, because he was a master hunter, he knew his limits, and just as he hadn't stood a chance with Atobe Keigo, Yukimura Seichi was not one to be defeated by a simple blade to the throat. The vampire would have vanished in an instant. The hunter's only real hope was the iron rule that a vampire could not enter without an invitation.

So much for that. But this vampire, like Fuji, showed no signs of blood lust, or even the slightest glimmer of power usage. He also had the full visage of a normal human, with his gentle eyes and hands, and between Sanada and the lingering questions about Fuji, Tezuka had decided to trust him. To some extent, anyway.

There was no need for formal introductions, so Tezuka jumped straight to the question dangling on his mind. "Why did Jyake let you in?"

"Because I slept with him," replied Yukimura, looking at his reflection in his tea. "Don't look at me like that, Gen. It was before I met you, and I already told you about this. Jyake loved a pretty face. He didn't even care if it was on something not human."

This was the first time Tezuka ever heard a vampire refer to its own as a thing. "Is that why Fuji's here?" He felt slightly sick to his stomach asking.

"Partially, yes, but Jyake had a second use for him as well." The vampire calmly sipped his tea, but he had stopped smiling. "Tezuka-san, do you know why Atobe sent Fuji here?"

"... Fuji told me there was unrest amongst the other clans."

Nodding, Yukimura set down his cup with a click. "Not all humans have the same blood. Some types, such as those with a particular physique, or those with special abilities, are much more... mm, delicious, you could say. For instance, a virgin's blood is incredibly sweet like pure sugar... like any dessert, we can't have too much of it.

"Fuji's blood is especially potent. Maa, those who understand _why_ it's like that stay away for their own good. But the clans other than mine and Atobe's don't really know. They think Fuji is some sort of power source, that if they drink his blood they'll gain a special strength. They want it, even if it meant fighting with the powerful Atobe clan. They can smell it, even a drop, from miles away. The weak ones come without thought."

He paused, looking up at Tezuka with a perfect smile. "Jyake liked to kill them. He used Fuji as bait, to draw vampires directly into his household full of traps, and slay them without taking a foot from his own house. It was eerily efficient. He would cut, or do whatever he felt like to make Fuji bleed, and they'd come to him in waves.

"I also came because of the scent. I banned my familiars from coming close, but I had to see for myself what Atobe's precious toy was like. Jyake let me in on two conditions, one that I didn't attack him, and the other that I have sex with him." Sighing, the vampire shifted his eyes away from the black eyed hunter staring intensely at his face. "That was the first time, but after that I came back for Jyake."

_Oh,_ was all Tezuka could think. He'd been told that his uncle was handsome in his day, but really... what irked him was that the two of them had a very similar face.

"Tezuka-san, I'll be very frank with you.

"Sanada and I came to use Fuji similarly to how Jyake did. I want to use him as bait, to draw out his master.

"I want to kill Atobe Keigo."

* * *

Glass 12: Choir

* * *

After cleaning the tea cups, Yukimura went to wash the mud off the peacoat, pointing out that it would take a while to dry. It was a cold, but still sunny day, and the colorful leaves outside were almost done drifting to the ground, leaving their mothers bare for the coming winter.

Tezuka shifted uncomfortably as he watched Sanada and Yukimura together. It was strange, seeing a master hunter side by side with one of Japan's most powerful vampires. Their story was a strange one, about how they were partnered together to slay a common rival, but it was obviously more than that that they shared. When Yukimura looked downcast in the noontime sun, Sanada moved in front of him to block it out, his large frame casting a shadow over the blue haired beauty. Even though Yukimura insisted on cleaning the coat himself, Sanada helped set up and hang the line. Tezuka wanted to offer his help since after all, it was his residence, and technically his coat, but he simply couldn't find a way to cut into the moment.

They looked like they wanted to hold hands, but were resisting because of Tezuka, which made him snort. Such a relationship went against everything the brunette had been taught about the world, yet he couldn't think of anything wrong with it at the moment. Watching them gave him a funny feeling in his chest, one that he almost named hope but he quickly cast the thought aside.

No matter how gentle, beautiful, kind, or caring Yukimura seemed, he was still a being of evil.

They decided to continue the conversation with Fuji present as well. Yukimura seemed surprised to hear the petite vampire was caged inside the attic. "He wasn't there when I last visited...mm... almost forty years ago? My, it's been awhile."

"What was he like back then?" Tezuka inquired.

"We've never spoken. Jyake let me see him..." Smiling sadly, Yukimura's eyes turned downwards. "But not talk to him. He probably doesn't remember me."

_Fuji kneeled half-collapsed, his clotheless body wrapped in silver chains that seared his skin and forced him into a sitting position. His head hung limply, neck pressed hazardously against a silver collar, eyes blankly staring at the floor and lip dropped open in semi-consciousness. Cuts and lacerations covered his remaining bare skin, and splatters of dried blood and cum were noticeable in several places..._

Fuji looked up with his usual smile, but then his jaw dropped and his eyes widened when he saw there were extra visitors. Since Tezuka was relaxed, the honey haired vampire relaxed as well, a truly welcoming smile growing on his face.

At the same time, Yukimura looked sadly at Fuji, taking in the black scars running up and down the trapped vampire's arms and around his ankles. There was pity in those midnight blue orbs, but Yukimura smiled kindly and said, "Hello," as he walked over to the column of light, which had begun glowing in reaction to another vampire's presence.

". . . Good afternoon," Fuji replied after a pause. He was looking very intently between both Yukimura and Sanada, who stood silently near the door. "You... and the man in the back..."

"He's asking about you and Sanada," Tezuka said, realizing that Yukimura couldn't hear Fuji's words.

"Hm..." Yukimura stepped through the path Atobe had created earlier, as unperturbed by the wards as the diva had been. He knelt down and placed his fingers at the bottom of the column of light, rubbing at the marks for the inner circle with his fingers. Whispering softly to himself, he stood back up and began waving his hands in the air in a weaving pattern.

Tezuka tensed as he felt vampiric magic being used, the hairs rising on the back of his neck. Glowing red lines appeared in the air, swirling beautifully and connecting to each other in an intricate pattern, which ended with a circle sealing around them. The magic circle pulsated between red and yellow and was a foot in diameter, floating perpendicular to the floor.

"Hello, Fuji-kun," Yukimura smiled, the circle glowing between him and the trapped brunette.

"I see... it's like a microphone," Fuji smiled back in an eerily similar way.

Frowning, Tezuka staring at the small circle's pattern which seemed to mimic the much larger ones strewn across the attic floor. "Can Atobe cast this spell as well?" He thought of the diva, screaming and clawing at the glass.

"Hm, maybe he can, maybe he can't," Yukimura hummed. "We two are the oldest and most powerful vampires in all of Japan, but our powers and personality are very different." _Thank god_, he seemed to silently add. "Fuji-kun, you wanted to know about Genichirou and I? We're lovers."

Tezuka's face remained completely stony, though he felt his eyebrow twitch. So it wasn't a secret after all.

"Oh..." Fuji's expression mirrored Tezuka's.

"So tell me...why on earth has a beauty as powerful as you stayed subservient to a fool like Atobe Keigo?"

Dropping his eyes to the floor, Fuji avoided the gentle smile and cunning gaze cast upon him. "That's... well, even if I had that kind of power, I can't because I've been ordered not to drink his blood."

"Hm..." Yukimura's smile broadened, his eyes crinkling upwards into crescents. "That's unusual. Atobe's the type to have too much pride to give such an order to his familiars, since the idea is he's too powerful and respected by his underlings for them to try such a thing. Now if he ordered you to wear woman's clothes as you are, that would be very much like him... _oh._"

Fuji blushed in shame, but it only made him look more cute. "I, I haven't introduced myself yet," he stuttered. "I'm Fuji Syuusuke."

"I know," Yukimura smiled. "I'm Yukimura Seiichi. The stone over there is Sanada Genichirou. He's mine."

The two continued to exchange pleasantries and chit chat, while Tezuka waited in the back with Sanada. The bespectacled hunter could see the delighted glint in Fuji's eyes. He was probably excited to have a new visitor, his smile alight with curiosity.

"You've changed," Sanada's deep voice rumbled quietly next to him.

". . ." Tezuka's eyes stayed trained on the two vampires, but his vision lost focus.

Sanada looked in that direction as well, but his eyes stayed zoomed in on his blue haired lover. "I was afraid you would kill Yukimura the moment you saw him."

". . . You've changed, too." The Sanada that Tezuka remembered was not afraid of anything.

"He changed me," was the confident reply. "I changed him, too."

An ill feeling settled in the bottom of Tezuka's stomach.

The two effeminate vampires finished their small conversation, but as far as the hazel eyed hunter could tell, nothing important had been said. He had a strange image of a snake and a mongoose glaring at each other, sizing each other up, albeit a very pretty snake and mongoose that were pretending to compliment each other over tea. He couldn't really sense anything hostile about either of them, and if anything they were no more hostile than when he and Fuji played poker, but he had a feeling both were annoyed at being unable to read the other. Tezuka had given up on such a feat without even trying; he had plenty of other things to give him headaches.

Yukimura closed his crafted circle, and turned to face Tezuka so that Fuji couldn't read his lips. He said he wanted to discuss some things with the hunters downstairs, so the three of them exited the attic after Tezuka handed Fuji an orange to snack on and keep himself occupied. The light haired vampire was _pouting_ at him, for the first time looking truly irritated that he couldn't leave the circle. It was much better than his usual resigned aura, so Tezuka decided to let Yukimura come more often.

"That child is hiding too much," said vampire murmured, once they were back in the living room. "He's quite talented at evading questions directed at himself."

Tezuka snorted, internally rolling his eyes as he thought, _He's probably preaching to the choir._

"But at least I have a sense of what he's like. It doesn't really matter, since I probably know more about him than he knows about himself." The blue haired beauty settled down on the coach, patting the cushion next to him for Sanada to sit.

_Why did you really come here,_ was what Tezuka really wanted to ask, but instead asked, "The spell trapping Fuji in the attic - Atobe said it wasn't cast by a hunter. Was it you?"

Yukimura shook his head. "That isn't typical vampiric magic. It's something Fuji cast himself."

"...What?" The shock must have been visible on Tezuka's face, because Yukimura snickered a little. The notion that Fuji created his own cage was just... but why? How? Fuji had admitted to learning some form of shamanistic magic as a human child, but still...

It was also very alarming. Tezuka had undone almost all of his uncle's securements, meaning the only thing protecting him from Fuji was something Fuji made himself. Which meant if he really wanted to, the brunette could probably also un-make the cage.

"It doesn't work like that," Yukimura broke in, as if reading his thoughts. "The spell is absolute because Fuji wrote into it that no vampire could break it, including himself. He let the magic go beyond his control so that it would be omnipotent."

"But why create a cage for himself?" Sanada asked, a look of curiosity growing in his eyes.

"Mmm..." Humming, the effeminate vampire drew with his finger on the table, a trail of yellow light staying wherever he touched. "This inner circle, the one casting that pillar around him, is the one Fuji carved. But this outer one -" he drew in the Jewish star that went around the inner circle, then the outer circle. "- this was created by Jyake. The symbols there are those of hunter. It only glows the same color because it's affected and strengthened by Fuji's magic. But either one could have come first."

"... When I came here, there were many other binds around Fuji." Tezuka crossed his arms. "The crosses and holes in the roof look like something my uncle put in. Fuji told me they were here to keep other vampires out... do you mean those are part of the network of traps Jyake used to slay the vampires coming in?"

"Yes. And the binds were something he used for... fun. Jyake only needed a silver collar he kept around Fuji's neck, that had magic circles inscribed in it and served as a binding circle itself."

Sanada suggested, "Could he have been protecting himself from Jyake?"

"But humans can enter the circle," Tezuka frowned. "Though if it eliminated the need for Jyake's collar, it may have been a more comfortable situation for Fuji." Not that there was anything comfortable about being stuck in a 3 foot space. "No... there were still chords around his arms." ... But at least this way, Jyake couldn't drag Fuji to his bedroom...

"... Maybe Fuji's lying to us," Yukimura interjected sharply. "Maybe he does know why he's been so carefully protected, or maybe he just senses it... this is definitely the best defense for him, compared to staying at the monastery or with Atobe."

Jerking straight, Tezuka's eyes narrowed. "_You_ know."

Closing his eyes, the vampire nodded, his voice quiet as he explained. "I did a little research after seeing Fuji... here, like he was. I tracked down his family, and found his sister Yumiko, who had just taken over as head priestess of their family's shrine."

He paused, an amused look on his face, and Tezuka twitched in his seat, feeling like he was being made fun of for looking so eager, even though his expression was as stone cold as ever.

"First, you have to understand that that child is a prodigy. There wasn't a spell Yumiko taught him that he didn't learn instantly, and his execution was stronger and more precise. More than that, he began creating his own spells... that circle is a perfect example. I've never seen magic in that form before, which is probably why you and Atobe had difficulty identifying it."

"There are other geniuses in the world," Tezuka frowned. Since he'd arrived here, the honey haired vampire had not shown even the slightest sign of magical power. He wondered if there was some sort of spell preventing Fuji from using magic, but knowing him he could have just chosen not to.

"Yes, but they say he has the kind of power that only comes once in a thousand years. It's a special form, something with particular attributes that makes him extremely valuable ... or so the story goes. The last time such a being appeared... well, it was over half a millennium ago, and... I don't know the details either, really. I was barely a child then," he laughed, "that may have been back when I was still human."

_I thought Yukimura was a purebread,_ Tezuka grimaced. He was clearly on the short end of the stick when it came to information. "So if he's extremely powerful, then why give him to Atobe, to the enemy? And if his abilities were already apparent from childhood, then why did the priests treatment of him change when he reached puberty?"

"Because that was when they discovered he was infertile." The vampire's smile disappeared. "I don't know how they found out. Maybe they made him masturbate, or forced him to have sex with a woman. Maybe they raped him. Anyhow, they realized that they would never have another being like him, not for a thousand years.

"So they decided to preserve him."

Clenching his fist, Tezuka remembered the dream he'd had this morning. The Fuji he knew, the Fuji he'd seen in his visions, never used magic or power or showed any signs of even fighting back, no matter what happened to him or how he was treated.

Something about the whole thing didn't make sense. Fuji's story, Yukimura's story, the circumstances Tezuka already knew... something was obviously wrong, but he couldn't put his fingers on it. The little details that were out of place, the conflicting statements and actions...

"In exchange for this information..." whispered the wavey haired being.

"You want my cooperation in hunting Atobe Keigo."

A series of high pitch beeps went off, a midi imitating a famous enka piece, and Sanada fished the interrupting cell phone out of his pocket and cut off the ring. "Excuse me," he mumbled, waving his apologies before he moved from the couch towards the kitchen.

The blue haired vampire on the couch watched the broad man with a gentle smile, his eyes shimmering with a tender light.

"You must think it's impossible," the vampire murmured, his hand curling around his knee.

". . . It's not unheard of," Tezuka conceded. "But I've never heard of a vampire and a human being long term lovers. Either the vampire leaves, or the human is quickly turned so that they can be together."

"I won't turn him." Yukimura spoke adamantly. "Not now, anyway. In the end, it's Genichirou's choice."

_I've also never heard of a vampire giving such a choice,_ Tezuka added silently in his mind. "So even if he wants to turn, you've decided to wait?"

The vampire nodded. "For one, I need a hunter in order to kill Atobe. Two, if I turn him, then I'll have to go back to drinking other humans' blood. And three, well... being a vampire is not all fairytales and glitter. If Genichirou wants to remain human, then I'll stay with him till his end."

"Even though you'll be lonely?"

"... I might not be."

Tezuka blanched as he read the bluenette's expression. Until this year, every vampire he'd met had clung to life with a blood thirsty vengeance. Nothing mattered more to a vampire than living forever. Yet here was the second vampire after Fuji who hinted at a willingness to die. The difference though was that Fuji wanted to end his suffering, while Yukimura would pass on for a chance to be with his love.

Love. From a creature of darkness. It was unfathomable.

They went on to discuss Fuji's attitude and behavior until Sanada returned, saying something about someone named Yanagi having finished getting everything ready. Yukimura smiled and fixed up his jacket, indicating that the two of them would now take their leave.

"If you want to stay nearby, there are extra rooms here," Tezuka politely offered. He could not say he truly trusted Yukimura at this point, but his world was so turned upside down as of late that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference to take in the eccentric pair.

"No, but thank you," said Sanada. "We have a hotel room in the village below. It will be better if we stay there."

Why it would be better Tezuka decided not to ask. He walked them outside, and Yukimura handed him the coat which was now fairly dry.

"Tezuka-san, before we go, there's one last thing I want to talk to you about." Midnight blue eyes met his in a serious gaze. "For vampires, an important part of making love is feeding from your partner. Especially between a human and a vampire... a human's blood is so much more delicious if he loves the one drinking from him, which is why vampires often seduce their victims into falling in love with them. As for the human, he feels the aphrodisiac feeding from the vampire's fangs. It's an incredibly intimate experience..."

_Why are you telling me this?_ thought Tezuka, but he didn't dare speak out loud. He didn't like what the blue haired vampire was implying.

"Of course you already know this, but a vampire does not need to kill in order to feed. Atobe and I have lived this long not because we're powerful, unfortunately, but because we chose to never kill out of blood lust, our familiars included."

_True,_ thought Tezuka. If the Shinten line, including Tezuka's and Sanada's families, along with a few other powerful families in Japan decided to team up, they could probably take out one of the top two clans. But there would be heavy casualties all around, so there would have to be a good reason for such a sacrificial attack.

"I haven't drunk from any human other than Genichirou for over three years now. I have to be careful, because I don't want to take too much and hurt him. This is true for any vampire, that the longer one waits before his next drink, the more driven he'll be once he finally takes blood.

"Fuji's reason for not biting you is probably not because he hates blood, rather, he's afraid that once he starts, he'll go all the way and kill you."

_"You haven't drunk in a long time, so if you drink now, you won't be able to stop," a shaggy blue haired vampire smirked down on him, his spectacles glinting in the moonlight. It was silly for a vampire to even wear spectacles, Tezuka thought, but this was most likely an addition to its disguise as a human, a fairly common accessory._

_A cawing laugh came from the redhead next to him, who taunted, "That's what you get for breaking into the store room! Didjya really think we wouldn't notice?"_

_"You can't live off blood bottles forever," the bespectacled one added. "You haven't even tried drinking from a human yet, right?"_

_"Hush, you two," came a familiar drawl of elitism. Tezuka's perspective changed, and now he could see Fuji, half naked and shivering on the ground, with his head forced down by a leering Atobe Keigo. "I ordered you five weeks ago to stop drinking blood indirectly, and you still haven't fed properly. If you'd drunk from a human as I suggested, you wouldn't be in this position now would you, ahn?_

_"Please don't..." Fuji begged, eyes trembling as he stared at a huge, dark skinned familiar standing near by. The bulky vampire held a struggling, gagged teenager in his hands. The youth had short, light brown hair and a peculiar x-shaped scar on his forehead. His blue-grey eyes were full not only of fear but of pity._

_"Now, Kabaji brought you a fine young human here-"_

_"Yuuta..." The lithe brunette whimpered. He looked like he wanted to reach out for the retained youth but something, probably an order from his master Atobe, kept him in place._

_"So chose," the silver haired elitist smirked, his eyes flashing lustfully gold. "If you drink from your brother, I won't give you any orders. So long as you stop on your own, he won't die._

_"Or, you can drink from our little spying priest friend over here-" He kicked the man bound and gagged at his feet, "-and I'll order you to drink till he's dead."_

_The short redhead started giggling, only stopping when his bespectacled friend punched his shoulder._

_"Choose."_

_"I can't..._ I can't..."_ Fuji's broken voice could barely be heard_

_"... I can't..."_

I can't...

* * *

To be continued.

* * *

A/N: I couldn't find a chance to explain, but Yukimura needs a hunter to kill Atobe, because vampires can't really kill each other. They can fight, of course, and weaken each other almost to the point of death, but to totally kill a vampire requires tools that vampires can't touch (silver, holy water, crosses, wooden stakes, garlic, etc.). The only known method is for a vampire to completely drain the power (meaning blood) of the other vampire, then leave his remenants in a place that will be exposed to sunlight come dawn.

The exception is when a familiar defies the orders of its master - the master is then given the right by the laws of ancient magic to end that familiar's existence. Were Fuji to drink Atobe's blood, even though he would be free from his master, this right would remain and give Atobe the opportunity to kill him. Of course, the order could never be disobeyed, so someone else would have to trick Fuji into drinking the blood without him knowing.

A/N2: neumegami drew this lovely and absolutely perfect ToFu fanart for the fic that you all must see:

neumegami deviantart com/art/Sketch-teatime01-184805008

(Replace the spaces with periods.)


	4. Chapter 4

Circle

* * *

Glass 13: Birds

* * *

Fuji put on the coat once it was dry. It was far more ambiguous than the dresses, and though it met the requirement of being made for a woman, he looked like a well dressed young man rather than a frilly girl. The brunette's smile radiated off his face, as bright as the sunlight that shown through the ceiling holes.

It was faint, but the barest of smiles reflected off Tezuka's face as the effeminate vampire twirled excitedly, somehow dancing even in his tiny space. Lately, the hunter had felt a growing desire to make that space expand.

_But this barrier is something neither Jyake nor Atobe could break,_ Tezuka thought, _nor any of the other vampires that have been here. If even Fuji himself cannot break it..._

"Fuji... we need to talk." _Will he be trapped forever?_

"I know." The vampire smiled at him both brightly and sadly. "I'll answer your questions, but you have to do something for me first."

Nodding, Tezuka waited to hear his request.

"Step all the way inside the barrier."

Hazel eyes narrowed slightly as he considered what was being asked of him. Trust. Fuji was asking for his trust. Not a forced, reluctant trust that Tezuka had given Yukimura, but a choice. Without being able to change or disperse the column of light, the only thing he could truly choose was whether to enter all the way into it, or stay on the other side where the vampire couldn't reach.

_Once he starts, he'll go all the way and kill you._ Yukimura's words rang in his ears, his heart pounding as he stepped through the barrier. Though he'd entered many times, except for the time he was wounded, he'd always left himself in a position where he could quickly back away. He'd been stupid, he mused in retrospect, to have let his guard down as he was seeping blood, but at the time he hadn't been able to think straight.

Now he felt as though he was being asked, will you come in? Will you choose, with your head on straight, to place yourself beside me?

It was a question he realized he had already answered, from the first time he crossed the circle to give the vampire water.

Fuji's lower lip trembled as the hunter met his gaze, before a genuine smile appeared and the small brunette wrapped his arms around the taller one in a hug. His pale face buried itself in Tezuka's broad chest, the questions the hunter'd been meaning to ask fleeing from his mind as his arms slowly encircled Fuji in turn.

They spent a moment in silence, listening to each other breath, to Tezuka's fast beating heart, Fuji's quiet sighs, the air perfectly still around them. Soon they relaxed into the mutual embrace, Tezuka's fingers drifting mindlessly through honey brown locks, encouraging the lithe being to talk.

"Sorry... I just wanted to do this. ... For a while now..."

The vampire released his hold, but Tezuka stayed as he was. "It's fine. ... Tell me what you've been thinking."

Smiling against the hunter's sweater, Fuji spoke with ease. "That man... Yukimura-san... he makes me feel like a child. It's like being with Atobe." Clinging to the hunter's arms, the lithe brunette closed his eyes as he sighed. "I don't know how to deal with them."

_As if I do_, thought the hunter with a snort.

"They both show up now, one after another, even though I've been here for so long. Jyake's dead now..." A dark tone seeped into the vampire's soft voice. "I'm worried... I think something is going to happen."

"Something?"

"It's just a feeling. My sister had the power to interpret cards that read the future, so maybe I have a fraction of her ability." He shook his head. "But it could just be a feeling."

_He did warn me about Atobe coming..._ thought Tezuka. An image of his mother, Tezuka Ayana, flashed through his mind. "Fuji, tell me about your power. Not what the others have told you... what you yourself know."

"Hm..." The effeminate brunette hummed, and for a moment Tezuka thought he wouldn't tell him. But Fuji started with a calm voice. "Sometimes... I can see the universe. It isn't like looking up into the stars but... I can see ... as if I'm outside of the universe, looking down upon it. Everything is tiny, all the galaxies, the stars, I can't even tell which one is the Earth."

Unable to see where this was going, Tezuka thought to interrupt, but decided not to.

"...Sometimes, its like I'm a speck of dirt mixed into the soil, looking up at a canopy of trees, but I'm so small and the trees are so large... sometimes, I'm deep within the earth, buried there, captured there, coveted... sometimes, I hear these voices calling, they don't belong to anything remotely human but I understand what they're saying... I think... they're the songs of birds...

"It's hard to explain, but I think this is my power. For me, using magic is more natural than breathing... I don't cast spells like the others do, I don't have to chant or write out symbols... I imagine what I want in my mind, and form it into a shape, and it happens.

"Sometimes when I do, I can feel the presence of something greater... greater than... me, you, Atobe, the earth, the universe... I hear it in the bird songs...

"And I'm afraid of it."

* * *

Glass 14: Human

* * *

They heard a knock on the door.

"Don't answer it." Fuji hugged him tightly, as if to say, _Stay here with me, like this..._ "I have a bad feeling."

Tezuka closed his eyes, willing himself to see the door, envisioning it in his mind. He sighed when nothing came other than his imagination. His was an inconvenient power, never working how he wanted it to.

Whoever it was was pounding loudly enough that they could hear him up in the attic, and he - or maybe she - was rather insistent. It was not an odd time for visitors, being the middle of the afternoon, but he was not expecting anyone to visit. Yukimura and Sanada, perhaps? But they had indicated that they would come when they were needed, and Tezuka had a feeling that smiling blue haired beau would simply let himself in rather than bang on the door.

Tezuka backed out of the circle with a sigh, leaving Fuji pressed anxiously against the glass. "I'll be right back," he assured the cerulean eyed male.

The door was still being knocking on when he tore it open, throwing an irritated glare at an equally irritated looking boy staring back at him. The kid sized him up for a second then smirked, his golden brown eyes giving off a bit of a glint. His olive black hair matched his school uniform, a traditional black gakuran, and he had what looked like a sports bag, maybe a tennis racket case, slung over his shoulder.

"Osu."

Tezuka considered slamming the door back shut, not wanting to deal with the pranks of some local village kid, but instead he gave one of his infamous death glares, hoping he'd intimidate the boy into leaving. It had worked plenty of times before, but the pre-teen just smirked more cheekily.

"I was in the area, and I heard this where that famous guy, Tezuka lives."

". . . You mean Tezuka Jyake." _Who are you_, he thought, but was too annoyed to ask.

"Yeah, him."

"He's dead."

"Hm..." the boy's lip turned down a bit, in to what was maybe supposed to be a pout, but instead he just looked bratty. "That's too bad, I heard he was a pretty good fighter."

_The best in asia in his youth,_ Tezuka thought with sealed lips. Whoever this cocky kid thought he was, the hunter was not one to pick a fight. _Who are you._

"But he was like, super old or something right?"

"... You never met him?"

The kid shrugged, striding into the house as if Tezuka's conversing with him was invitation enough. The bespectacled hunter sighed, following him in, feeling used to people barging in against his will. At least this wasn't a vampire, but there was something about him that Tezuka found disconcerting, other than Fuji's warning.

After taking off his shoes, the boy looked around, whistling as if he found the Western style house fascinating.

"Who are you?" Tezuka deadpanned, his voice brimmed with annoyance, but actually he felt weary. He had a funny feeling in his gut and fingered the silver blade he kept tied to his thigh, following the kid with his eyes suspiciously.

The kid looked at him with a cocky grin. "You should introduce yourself first when asking for a name right?"

Tezuka snorted outright; it wasn't as if he'd been given a chance to. "Tezuka Kunimitsu... Jyake's nephew." _And heir,_ but that was a detail he didn't care to add.

"Echizen Ryouma."

Something about that name struck a chord in Tezuka's memory, but he couldn't recall what it was. Maybe he'd heard of this kid while frequenting the village. The boy seemed like some sort of infamous trouble maker.

"... How old are you?" He asked, his frown deepening as he noticed the pre-teen looking around.

"Twelve," Echizen voiced loftily as he ran his hand along the wooden banister. He was half way up the stairs when Tezuka pounded against the wall, the loud noise stopping the kid in his tracks.

"Just where do you think you're going?" The feeling in Tezuka's gut had changed from uneasiness to dread. _This kid..._

Echizen took off running, and Tezuka did not enjoy chasing the damn brat up the stairs to the second story. Worse still, the attic stairs were dropped down like an open invitation, screaming for the pre-teen to race upward. A second behind, the hunter grabbed the rascal's arm just as they entered the uppermost room. Fuji was still pressed against the glass, his forehead wrinkled in worry, and Tezuka thought he heard the vampire call to him.

But he didn't have time to think, as Echizen suddenly swung around, his free left hand no longer empty but bearing a short switch blade. Tezuka let go just in time to avoid having his arm sliced, instinctively jumping back and arming himself with his own dagger in a matter of seconds. He parried a second attack, then side stepped to avoid Echizen's follow-up slice, meeting the kid's blade with his own and twisting his wrist, sending the raven haired boy's weapon arm up in the air.

This kid was obviously skilled, but Tezuka more so. Echizen's face was calm but his eyes menacing as the hunter held his knife just below the boy's chin.

"Hm... so you're _that_ Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"What do you want with Fuji?" Tezuka growled, realizing he'd been toyed with. The kid knew all along who he was and about Jyake being dead...

"What does any hunter want with a vampire?" Echizen smirked, "Of course to kill-"

Without completing his sentence, Echizen suddenly kicked high and cartwheeled backwards, again putting Tezuka on the defense. The dagger's short reach was too limiting, so the hunter lunged for the entry way, drawing out a spare katana he'd kept hidden there ever since the incident with Atobe.

"Tezuka, he's half vampire!" Fuji screamed, and the hunter shot back to face his attacker, his eyes widened in surprise as Echizen's eyes began to glow gold. The sports bag, which had fallen near the entrance, shook and then flew to the dark haired imp, bursting open to reveal a variety of weapons inside.

"Actually, only a quarter," the boy smirked, as the weapons lined up in an array before him, held by invisible telekinetic strings. "Funny, now that I've activated my power, that thing's voice sounds muffled, like it's coming through water."

The blades, varying in length and shape, all swiveled to face Tezuka. The hunter barely had time to react as they viciously rained down on him in layers. He dodged what he could and parried the rest, a few managing to nick his skin before embedding themselves hard into the floor. But he had no time to be relieved as Echizen was leaping at him from behind the wave, a katana thrusting towards him. It should have been impossible to avoid, but Tezuka had dragged his rosary out of his pocket and managed to catch the blade on the loop, yanking it to the side. It harmlessly impaled the wall, but he could not counter Echizen's foot, which slammed hard into his shoulder.

Tezuka screamed as the wound Atobe made ripped open. Echizen must have been able to smell the remnants of blood with his vampiric senses. He kicked at it again, forcing Tezuka's hand to reflexively release the katana and shoving the hunter hard into the wall.

"I don't kill humans. Stop getting in the way," Echizen sneered, pulling his katana from the wall and turning towards the attic's center, where Fuji stood yelling and banging at the ethereal glass.

Delirious with pain, Tezuka struggled to keep his eyes open as his assailant surveyed the column of magic that kept Fuji trapped. Through the hazy agony, a memory drifted before him of an Echizen Nanjirou - an infamously powerful hunter, also a Shinten maestro, who'd been deeply in love with a woman. When he'd almost died during a hunt, he'd converted himself to a vampire by drinking the blood of the one he'd slain, so that he could be with her. Love for a maestro was hence forbidden.

They'd had a half-blood child, or so the story continued, though Tezuka had heard it was a female. "You're.." he choked, "Echizen Nanjiro's..."

"Grandson," Echizen shrugged, uninterested in the one he'd defeated. He reached his hand towards the barrier, Fuji's eyes wide on the other side. The hand sank into the glass, as if stretching into rubber, fingers pushing in a few inches before the pre-teen pulled back. ". . . How entertaining." The boy grinned with the eyes of one who liked to be challenged. "I guess I could disconnect from my vampiric lineage, but it looks like this thing would kill me the moment I stepped inside."

Tezuka would have thought Fuji wasn't capable of killing anything, even a fly, but looking at the current brunette's face gave him an echo of doubt. The cerulean eyed vampire was practically seething, his eyes glaring murderously at the black haired boy then flashing in concern towards Tezuka. He didn't bare claws or fangs, but the hunter felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, as the honey haired being hummed with invisible magic. Fuji didn't plan on going down easily, even in his four foot wide prison.

Somehow, the hunter felt relieved. But that feeling was obliterated as Echizen called his sword to him; it vibrated strongly before flying to his hand. Tezuka had seen it closely enough to make out the hunter magic etched into both its handle and blade, a specially crafted work that was most likely passed down through the Echizen line of maestro.

The blade slashed down towards its target, passing unaffected through the magical barrier. It looked like it was about to slice through Fuji's hand, as he had raised it in defense of his head, but the sword shuddered and held barely a breath away from the skin. Eyes coming into focus, Tezuka made out a small, round shield of magic projected above the vampire's palm, efficiently and elegantly blocking the incoming steel.

"_That magic..._" The boy's voice was filled with awe. "Neither a vampire's nor a hunter's." A smirk danced across the boys lips, his eyes glowing with excitement at the challenge set before him. "But if it wasn't like this, this would be a waste of time. I suppose I'll have to break this, after all."

A light chant tumbled from the pre-teen's mouth, a sheen of golden light covering his sword with a vampire's aura. The chant changed forms, and the hunter's symbols on the sword projected outward. The violent mixture of opposing powers sent a sickening wave through Tezuka's gut, making him waver nauseously as he was trying to stand.

Echizen let out a shout like a pouncing samurai, swinging his sword wildly at the column of light with all his strength.

A chaotic sound like the shattering of glass roared through the attic, barely covering Fuji's scream as he ducted and covered his head with his hands. The magical wall tore into pieces and flew in all directions, searingly bright as it exploded in the dusty rafters.

Then suddenly an electric sound like a thousand volts surged out of the air, and Echizen threw himself backwards with a shocked cry, just quick enough to avoid being impaled by the lance of electricity the bolted down across the circle. The entire outer circle began dancing with bolts of lightening, that shot from the glowing symbols to the rafters, where more symbols were visible now that they were glowing too. Fuji lay flat in the center, pinned beneath the dozen electrical streams that threatened to tear through him should he stand.

"A second barrier!" Echizen shouted in frustration. "Jyake thought he could stop me with this- this feeble hunter magic? "

The gold eyed hunter began hissing out a counter spell, but before he could finish, Tezuka leaped at him with his katana back in hand. The bespectacled hunter was still dizzy, and pain seared through his shoulder and arm, but his thundering heart kept him moving. He lashed out an attack, but his swing was too wide and unfocused. The younger hunter had just enough time to jerk backwards out of the path of the blade, but in doing so lost control of the magic gathered in his hand.

The half formed symbols flew out like a grenade, straight towards Tezuka's chest. He didn't have time to react before a heavy weight crashed into him, and for a split second he thought he'd been struck - before he realized that what hit him was not magic gone awry but a body.

Fuji. Fuji was somehow in front of him, somehow crashing into him, sending them both flying back into the wall, and now the vampire was against his chest, a dead weight sinking into his arms. The lightening had disappeared, the symbols of the outer circle wiped clean by powerful antimagic.

"Fu..."

"Why," Fuji cried, his voice trembling and frighteningly weak, "why are you doing this? Why are you attacking us? You must know..."

Tezuka looked at his palm when he felt something moist, and saw blood so thick it was black, covering his skin. "Fuji..."

Laughing, Echizen stalked towards them with the grin of one well entertained. "Of course I know. That's exactly why I came."

The peacoat was slashed deeply across the front, revealing deep gashes within Fuji's chest and stomach. A human would have been dead, but even for a vampire the small brunette was bleeding very little, his body trying to retain what tiny amount of precious liquid it still had left.

"A glory like no other. I'll repeat the event from six hundred years ago, when your predecessor was slain - I'll bring it to realization, the Fourth Dawn!"

Hands shaking, Tezuka pulled the ruined coat from the vampire's shoulders, setting the wounded brunette against the wall. He didn't know how to mend wounds on one who wasn't human, he didn't know how to help his friend, except by the most obvious way...

"It will complete the purification! The final death of all vampires in the entire world!"

Enervated cerulean eyes looked up at him, wavering with a hint of need, and it seemed as though they began to glow. Tezuka bent towards them, his lip quivering slightly with hesitation as the consequences flashed through his mind, but he realized he didn't care. He could feel Echizen was almost upon them, ready to strike now that the boy had finished his tirade.

He covered Fuji's body with his own, knowing he no longer had the mobility to fight the empowered teen, praying that the boy would keep to his word about not killing humans. If only Fuji were not so badly wounded, Tezuka had seen enough to know the small vampire had more than enough magic to defeat this chimera of a hunter. Resting his head against the trembling brunette's shoulder, Tezuka offered the clean expanse of skin that he knew would be able to save at least one of them.

But Fuji didn't drink. He wasn't going to drink, even now. His instincts should have been screaming at him, lusting for blood, for the vampiric elixir of healing, but as he took hold of Tezuka's chin, and raised his head so that their eyes met, it was clear.

_I won't._

Echizen should have had plenty of time to kill them now. To grab Tezuka, subdue him with blended magic, and pierce the vampire's heart with silver. Tezuka's eyes slid upward to find the young hunter not looking back. No, the raven haired youth seemed unconcerned with them, certain that his prey would not escape, staring instead towards the ceiling with a heavy scowl on his face.

The roof exploded.

Wooden planks rained down, the scarlet darkness of the evening sun descending with them. Bats stormed around the attic's perimeter, a flurry of brown and white furred familiars unable to enter without invitation but chattering viciously with squeaks and shrieks.

"Hmph," the boy smirked, unphased by the chaos. "It isn't as if there's anything they can -"

He was cut off when a silver lined shadow reached out and snagged him by the collar. He shrieked but had a quick enough reaction to swing around his sword, breaking the hold of the shadow but not able to reach it with his blade. The dark mist swept out of his range, gathering and solidifying into the form of an outraged Atobe Keigo.

Without pause, Echizen was chanting and mixing a hunter's ward spell with a devilish blood circle, eyes glowing eagerly as he prepared to dauntlessly attack one of the strongest vampires in Japan. The spell would have struck in a deadly instant - but the teen suddenly spun around, aiming the bolt straight towards Tezuka and Fuji.

Then a second shadow, lined with gold, dived through the air. Echizen was forced to send the spell defensively charging towards it, but it gracefully evaded with the elegance of a hawk, before wrapping itself around the teen's sword bearing arm. The shadow formed into the lithe body of Yukimura Seiichi, who's hands both gripped Echizen's until the youth screamed and dropped the sword. Atobe slipped his hold around the teen from behind, and it was only an instant before the two vampires had the young hunter magically bound.

"...ha...haha..." Echizen panted, a twisted grin stretched across his face, "So even the strongest had to team up to beat me... but it's too late, it's already started."

Tezuka turned back to Fuji, horrified to find those two cerulean orbs glowing back at him. It was not his imagination - something in Fuji was growing, and now not only his eyes glowed but his skin had begun to glow as well.

"Tezu..ka..." Fuji shuddered, holding the wound on his stomach in a useless seal, "..ru..run..."

"Fool!" Yukimura screamed, eyes burning with anger as he turned on the crowing hunter. "You think you'll survive at this range? This is the birth of a star that will burn even humans!"

* * *

Glass 15: God

* * *

Japan's strongest and most ancient vampires sneared in hostility behind him, and over a douzen of their familiars fluttered overhead, but all Tezuka cared about right now was the small being before him. An eerie, yet beautiful pale light eradiated from Fuji's body, strongly from his eyes and also from his skin.

Despite the mystical cover, the deep wounds on his chest and stomach showed no signs of closing. The scarlet glimmer of blood was not growing, as it would for a bleeding human, but was slowly turning an ashen grey. Tezuka had a sickening feeling of what would happen when the red vanished altogether.

"Tezuka...please... run," Fuji gasped between breaths, his head drooping on his shoulder, his eyes struggling to stay open. "I can't...can't control... if I drink... or stop... this power..."

"Fuji," Yukimura stepped towards them, leaving Ryouma to Atobe's binds. "The last Dawn destroyed almost all vampires in east asia, and killed the humans within two hundred miles with its light. If the Dawn comes, it won't matter how far Tezuka runs."

"I'm not running," Tezuka growled. He kneeled and took Fuji's hands in his own. "This will stop if he heals, right?"

"No..." Fuji sobbed. "I won't... I can't..."

Yukimura nodded, and Tezuka tightened his lips in determination.

"...I killed... I drank...from a priest... and killed him..."

"Tezuka, wait. There's a better way." Yukimura laid his hand on the bespectacled hunter's shoulder, motioning for him to lift Fuji. "Bring him to the center of the circle."

Gently scooping the small brunette into his arms, Tezuka moved him to the center of the attic, oblivious to the pain throbbing in his shoulder. The vampire felt weightless, as though he were made of air. Tezuka had always thought of vampires as cold, but they never really were, and Fuji was the warmest being he'd held in years. But now, his body and skin were like ice, cold and white.

A firm hand gripped Tezuka's wrist, and he was pulled away from the circle Fuji lay in by Sanada, who he hadn't realized was there. Yukimura stepped in his place, kneeling before the younger vampire and pulling him up in an embrace.

"You can't kill me," the bluenette reminded him, tilting his head to the side to unveil his nape. "You need to drink to heal. This is why the priests gave you to us immortals."

Fuji did not look convinced, but he was too far gone to argue. It seemed as though his head rolled forward, and then his upper lip drew back, the tell tale fangs elongating from his incisors. They pierced the column of exposed skin, drawing a gasp from the effeminate bluenette, followed by a moan.

Several seconds passed, then Yukimura's shaking hands were placed on Fuji's shoulders, and suddenly the elder vampire screamed as he shoved the brunette off of him. Sanada leaped forward to grab him, pulling the trembling vampire away, the hunter's eyes widening as he saw the burns covering Yukimura's hands.

"Seiichi," the raven haired hunter's concern was put aside by a shake of Yukimura's head.

"I'm alright," the bluenette quickly drew himself together, hiding his blackened palms in the folds of Sanada's coat. "I only meant to let him bite for a moment, but he was so forceful I couldn't pull away."

"Shouldn't we-"

"Not now," Yukimura smiled slightly, turning back to Fuji.

The honey haired vampire looked up at them, his body bathed in an intense light, his eyes a sharp, vivid blue. What crosses remained glowed brightly around him, then grew so hot they turned red and began to melt. The magic circles began twisting and creating new patterns on the attic floor. With the roof destroyed, light streamed in from all sides, but as the darkness of dusk rolled in, Fuji's overwhelming brightness became more and more apparent.

"That was enough to stabilize him physically, but he'll need more to regain control," Atobe interjected, his voice cold with a chilling anger. "He needs human blood," he sneered, his silvery purple eyes twisting towards Echizen. The young hunter had stopped laughing some time ago and was looking rather pale.

"No, it can't be him." Tezuka stepped into the inner circle, ignoring the tendrils of energy that were waving off the floor, no longer bound to planar dimensions.

Once he placed his hand over Fuji's, the magic erupted into a spectacular display of ribbons of white light, swirling about them both in a double helix. It was hot, blinding, lifting their hair and clothes like an obstinate wind, and beyond it, Fuji's eyes glowed like crystals struck by the sun.

It was terrifying.

_"It's god's magic."_

_The head priest watched with a cold, tired face, looking through the window at the small boy playing in the snow. The laughing brunette couldn't have been older than eight or nine. He was twirling, his arms in the air, and the light snow swirled with him, dancing in a pattern. Shapes were forming as it fell, adding onto the well crafted figures already carved out - snow men with features that reminded Tezuka of the priests, a bundle with cat ears and a scarf, blocks well carved into the shape of a church... they were being created not by human hands but by the falling snow._

_Fuji was almost radiant, the smile wide on his face, and he didn't seem lonely, having so much fun out in the snow alone._

It was also very beautiful.

"It's better if its someone intimate," Tezuka breathed, remembering what Yukimura had explained to him before. He kneeled down, pulling the small brunette against him in an embrace. Fuji did not resist, nor was he limp - he seemed entranced by his own magic. "Fuji - Syuusuke, you're going to drink from me, and I'm not going to die."

Those striking orbs of sapphire shifted instantly to pierce into his own, and a small smile crept on to Tezuka's lips. "Listen to me. The Shinten line is strong because only someone with special powers can marry into it.

"While my father was a hunter, my mother was a seer, and though I have little control, I've inherited her power. I usually only see the past and occasionally the present, but just now, I know I saw the future.

"I saw the two of us together, standing in the sun, wearing summer clothes..."

He took Fuji's shaking hand into his own, wincing at the feverish heat that radiated off the vampire's flesh.

_Our feet in the sand, the wind in our hair...us laughing, smiling, holding hands..._

Maybe Fuji believed him, or may he could no longer resist. The brunette placed firm hands on Tezuka's shoulders, and bit down into his neck.

* * *

Glass 16: Years

* * *

He'd waited his entire life for this moment.

This sensation, the sense of blooming, him, Fuji, the earth, the universe, and he knew he was seeing inside of Fuji's soul, riding along the prodigal power, delving into a vision of feathery light. He was soaring, up from the attic, out into the star splattered sky, on the twisting, caressing wind. He was passing into a silvery fog of cool moisture, onward and upward, going beyond into a space of sky trapped between layers of endless white. The darkness of night was dissolving behind him, overcome by the array of sunlight pouring out and drawing in the day; the brilliant star that gave earth life was blazing before him, unbridled in its magnificence without atmosphere to shield it.

And at the same time, he was falling, gently yet quickly gliding downwards, through the floor and the trunk of clothes and the living room furniture and into the ground, deep into the protective stone of the earth and the warm, maternal fire below it. The fire within the world felt as powerful as the one above it, and as he drew towards the center, he could see, feel, swim with the flowing streams of souls that weaved around it, all connected, all pouring into the inner core.

He began to hear the call, the song, the melody that cried of neither life nor death but of existence itself. The twittering of birds that answered it, the gentle hum of the core and the coos of the singer, the lyrics that were no language man could distinguish, unless they could grow feathered wings.

Perhaps he should have been frightening, but instead his heart was soaring, for what made it wonderful was not the sights, or the sounds, or the sensations, the exploration of new places or the discovery of new perceptions, but the fact that he knew, even without being able to see, that Fuji was there with him.

And then he could see _it_, or rather feel it, a presense that was neither one of them, an awe inspiring power, a great pressure imposed down upon him, crushing him against his own soul, which as powerful as he'd felt just before left him nothing more than a meager speck before this omnipotent, terrifying being...

He gasped, eyes wide, and there was Fuji, looking down on him with tear stained cheeks and wrinkled eyes. Whatever it was that just happened to him, the moment was broken, and it was nothing like the visions he had. He'd _been there_, up in the sky, down in the ground, and he was sure if it had gone on longer he'd have seen the stars and the universe, just as Fuji had described.

The shaking vampire cried out a relieved sob, covering his mouth with his hand, as he caught on to Tezuka's tell tale movements. Tucking his hands around the hunter's shoulders, Fuji helped him lift his head and gently moved him onto his lap.

"Stay, stay still," Fuji choked, stroking back the shaggy locks of brown that Tezuka felt pasted to his skin. "You're anemic."

Groaning, Tezuka tried to sit up anyway, only to find whatever blood he still had had rushed to his head, pulsing and giving him the hangover of his life. The pain decided to further grace him by shooting down his spine into the rest of his body, and he was once again reminded of the tear in his shoulder muscle, his hand reflexively gripping at the screaming wound.

"I think I need to re-do the stitches," Fuji whispered, pressing his hand down on the bandages. Tezuka nodded his agreement with a grimace, deciding that taking a rest was about all he could handle right then.

"Hey," a high pitched whine interrupted, coming from the rafters above. "Are you guys gonna make out or can we come in or something? We've been waiting up here for hours and its boring."

Eyes flashing up, Tezuka made out the speaker, a vaguely familiar looking redhead hunched next to a bespectacled bluenette, both of whom he recalled seeing in one of his visions. Hazel orbs glanced around frantically, taking in the many familiars that crouched around the broken edges of the roof. By the looks of it, one side of the roof bore familiars from the Atobe clan, including the two from his vision, who were busy hissing at the set on the other side, which he assumed must have been Yukimura's. They seemed evenly matched, Atobe's slightly greater in number, but Yukimura's clearly had magical supremacy. Either way, Tezuka knew they would be impossible for him to deal with, and he hoped they'd find some other place to duke it out and leave him alone.

"They said they need an invitation from the legal house owner," Fuji explained with a shrug. "Even though I've lived here longer, or maybe it doesn't count because I'm a vampire too, but I couldn't let them in."

Tezuka responded with a glare, having no intention of letting anyone _else_ into _his house_, vampire or not.

His lips twisted into a frown, as it clicked that Fuji had been trying to give the invitation, which deepened once he realized that Atobe was there - clearly within the property boundaries.

Despite Fuji's protests, he forced himself up, instinctively bringing up his guard. "I thought my uncle only allowed you to visit once after he died," the hunter scowled.

"That last time was so short it doesn't count," the diva huffed.

Tezuka almost flabbergasted, finding it unbelievable that a vampire could make his own bends in the absolute rules of the supernatural.

He wasn't the only one glaring. Yukimura was standing on the other side of Echizen, who was trapped in a magic circle, and Japan's two strongest seemed to be having a mental face off of who could throw the most sparks. Meanwhile, the child hunter was pouting inside his cage, clearly unhappy with the conversation that was being daggered back and forth over his head. Yukimura was in the process of arguing that it was he, not Atobe, who would be escorting the kid home, "because you'll turn him the moment you get your grimy little paws on him. I've seen the way you've been eyeing his ass, just as you used to eye my Sanada's-"

"On and on about 'your Sanada'," Atobe rolled his eyes. "I just thought he was some special thing," he sniffed, "since you were so interested in him. But he turned out to just be an ordinary brainless hunter."

Tezuka could see very clearly why Yukimura wanted to kill him.

The lithe vampire was glaring quite darkly, his chin dropped, letting the shadows cover his face. "If I hadn't lost so much blood, I'd kill you right now."

"Ore-sama does not know what he's done to deserve such one-sided hatred," drawled the diva, his lips curling in to a smirk. "My dear Seiichi, you know are always welcome back to ore-sama's double king sized bed."

Recalling his visions of Fuji's past with Atobe, Tezuka decided he very much wanted to kill Atobe too, if there was anything left of him once Yukimura was done. Of course, Sanada looked like he wanted in on it also.

Shelving the topic with a sigh, Yukimura waved aside the diva and kneeled before the young hunter, chanting softly to collapse the cage. The binding circle shrunk into a pair of cuffs around the boy's wrists, which looked to be effective at stopping the brat from trying anything funny. "I believe I know why you came, and what you were trying to do," the vampire assuredly smiled, the edge from his voice replaced completely with a gentle, maternal tone. "I'm sure Fuji can be trained to perform the purification for your grandfather without inciting a new Dawn, given enough time."

On any other day, Tezuka would have been angrily twitching, demanding Yukimura share all the things he obviously knew but hadn't explained. But now there was something else he wanted to do, as Fuji helped him stand, that he knew was more important.

He turned towards the wide eyed brunette with the faintest of smiles, ignoring the rest of the conversation as he slipped his fingers into Fuji's small, wavering hand. The pain from his shoulder was fading, washed away by a growing sense of tranquility as he led his short companion towards the stairway.

"Where are we..." Fuji looked up at him, his lips slightly parted in question, his brow wrinkling in surprise at Tezuka's uncharacteristic smile.

"I believe it's dinner time, and my condition calls for a definite need for food. But I'm tired, and didn't you say you wanted to try to cook?"

Fuji's eyes grew wide and wet as he looked down at his feet, staring at the floor below the attic that he hadn't seen in over thirty years.

Each step down came with a stronger sense of his freedom, and by the time they reached the first floor, drops of water were falling from Fuji's thick lashes, tiny splashes darkening the pale carpet. They stopped at the couch, somewhat under the pretense that Tezuka could rest, and the hunter wrapped his arms around the shaking brunette, letting the tears soak into his jacket.

"I'm ... finally..." Fuji quietly cried, his whole body shaking. "I was so stupid... thinking that barrier could stop the power of the Dawn... I... did such a thing to myself..."

Tezuka stroked his hair, making quiet hushing noises, too tired to think about the vampires fluttering about his house, or the kid hunter who he was probably obligated to rescue, or any other issues, other than the one he was holding, the one who needed him the most.

"I've been thinking how," the vampire continued, "In these last few months... Jyake died and Atobe and Yukimura and Echizen came but... you came too." Fuji raised hand cup Tezuka's cheek warmly in his palm. "When you first came I was so, so happy. I was sure you were going to kill me... I didn't realize then what would happen, and I just wanted to die. I had been trapped here for so long, and I just wanted the misery to end. I thought... knew my end would be you." He drew back his head, his tears stopped but his eyes still shimmering with moisture and light. "I still believe it will be."

Tezuka's hand rose to cover Fuji's. It was sunlight reflecting in his eyes, the soft strike of dawn dancing within the orbs of blue, the pure, airy white of the morning shimmered in his honey brown locks.

"Yes..." Tezuka quietly agreed, as the two of them drew closer. "Together," he added, just as their lips connected to each others.

* * *

The end.

* * *

A/N: There's so much I wasn't able to explain in this fic, and I could write a whole nother fic - a much, much longer one - just about Sanada and Yukimura, that would more or less explain all of it. Maa, it would be a monster of a fic to write, so I'll probably never get around to it. But I'm happy if I was able to entertain all of you, so please, please review and let me know how you felt. I'll answer any questions you have in an omake.

You all really must see neumegami's wonderful and quintessential artwork for this fic. First link is an expansion of the image from chapter 3 - it was actually drawn before chapter 3 was posted (i.e. before we met Seiichi),, and yet neumegami perfectly captured how Yukimura and Niou appear in this world. (Unfortunately Niou gets no screen time in Circle, but yes, he is one of Yuki's primary familiars.) Second link is delightful doll Fuji -hearts-. Replace the spaces with periods to view -

neumegami deviantart com/art/Sketch-teatime02-193958538

i61 photobucket com/albums/h44/neumegami/LJ/page007 jpg


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